Quinton de Kock is no stranger to the MI dressing room.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who was a late addition to the player auction list, was snapped up for his base price of INR 1 crore. He is no stranger to the MI dressing room, as he spent three years with the franchise from 2019 to 2021.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lauded the MI management for acquiring De Kock, calling it a smart move while suggesting that other teams missed an opportunity.
Ashwin felt Mumbai Indians are looking to recreate their IPL 2020 title-winning combination, despite the absence of Ishan Kishan. He added that even with a modest purse of INR 2.75 crore, MI bolstered an already strong squad.
"I think the Quinton de Kock buy was a good move. I think the other franchises were sleeping on their haunches, and MI snooped it up. I think MI are not sure about the Rickelton opening combination. I think MI are trying to replicate their IPL 2020 championship squad, only Ishan Kishan is not there," Ashwin said.
"MI had 2.75 crore, but it was as if they had 27 crore, because they bought so many players. MI already had a winning squad before they went into the IPL auction, and now, after the auction, they look even stronger," he added.
Besides Quinton de Kock, Mumbai Indians roped in Atharva Ankolekar, Mohammad Izhar, and Danish Malewar in the mini-auction.
MI squad for IPL 2026 season: Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat.