Mumbai Indians were among the least spoken about teams going into the IPL 2026 Auction, primarily because they were left with a small purse of only INR 2.75 crores. However, after the completion of the auction, the Mumbai Indians have turned out to be one of the most spoken about franchises. This was regardless of whether it was the selection of a seasoned campaigner in the form of Quinton de Kock at his base price of only INR 1 crore or starting the bidding process for Cameron Green.
Although the Mumbai Indians have a small purse of only INR 2.75 crore, they have managed to pick the remaining five players for the final composition of the Mumbai Indian squad. Among those players is left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Izhar from Bihar, who was also a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings.
Mohammad Izhar was selected as a net bowler by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2025 season. Training in the nets of CSK with world-class bowlers and bowling off to world-class batsmen helped the 21-year-old a lot. CSK had selected Izhar as one of their net bowers before their first match of the season against Mumbai Indians, which they won. Today, Izhar finds himself in the opposing camp as he plays for Mumbai Indians.
Izhar has not yet made his IPL debut but there is a possibility he might get a chance in the upcoming season. The five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians picked five players in the IPL 2026 auction, of whom three are uncapped and include Mohammad Izhar, contracted for INR 30 lakh. It is expected that MI, which has made it to the playoffs just two times in the past five years, would give him his maiden IPL outing.
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Mumbai has a list of players, including a left-arm pacer from New Zealand named Trent Boult, which may see Izhar being considered for his equivalent skills. Although Izhar has not got any experience playing in the IPL, his name is not a stranger to one who observes domestic matches. He was picked for the Under-23 team in his native state of Bihar, followed by training from the MRF Pace Foundation. That was followed by his appointment as a net bowler for CSK.
In the current season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, Izhar has performed well for the team from Bihar. Representing at such a strong level for the first time in this tournament, he has taken a total of nine wickets in five matches, with an average of 15.55 and an economy rate of 7.11. Although he was wicketless in the initial contest, he took four wickets for 39 runs against Madhya Pradesh, despite the team losing the match.
