Mumbai Indians Close In On Signing Mayank Markande Again From KKR, Talks In Final Stages: Report

IPL 2026 Auction: Mumbai Indians are closing in on getting back the services of Mayank Markande, having knocked at the Kolkata Knight Riders for the all-cash deal ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The conversation seems to be in the final stages as the five-time champions aim to bolster their squad.

As per a report in the Times of India, the announcement from the Mumbai Indians regarding Markande's re-signing could be made anytime soon, with the negotiations over the deal still going on between the two franchises.

The IPL off-season has seen plenty of trade movement in recent days, with the potential swap of Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings being at the top of the headlines. Talking about Markande, KKR had acquired the leg spinner for Rs 30 lakh at the 2025 mega auction, but did not feature him in a single match throughout the season. The five-time champions MI already have Karn Sharma and Vignesh Puthur within their setup as the leg-spinners.

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Markande had a memorable debut season with MI, taking 15 wickets in 14 games and earning his India call-up less than a year after his IPL breakthrough. The 28-year-old featured in just one T20I match for India before his career momentum dipped, limiting his chances in the IPL. Over the next five years, despite being part of two different teams, he managed to play only 23 games.

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Markande is currently playing the Ranji Trophy for Punjab and has picked three wickets in as many matches, at an impressive economy of 2.96. He has also scored 73 runs.

The report claimed that there was little interest in Rahul Chahar as well from the MI camp. However, it remains unclear whether those discussions progressed into any formal talks with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The SRH management was unconvinced with Chahar’s performance last season, according to the report, giving him only one match despite signing him for Rs 3.2 crore at the mega auction.

Chahar was a key player for MI during their title-winning campaigns in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He took 13 wickets in 2019 and 15 wickets in 2020, with his best IPL figures of 4/27 coming in 2021.