Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians have started their pre-season camp ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament, which is scheduled to start from March 28. Former skipper Rohit Sharma, who was recently spotted in the Maldives spending time with his family, has also joined the camp, and even before things got serious, some fun moments between players have already grabbed attention online.
Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur banter
Just hours before their training began on March 16, the team shared a video on social media that quickly went viral. In the clip, former captain Rohit Sharma can be seen playfully teasing Shardul Thakur during a net session.
Thakur, who recently joined the team from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), was bowling to Rohit but ended up missing his length. Rohit smashed the ball for a big six, and as Thakur watched it fly, Rohit joked, saying, “Catch it… in the stands.” The moment left everyone smiling, including Thakur.
Another players who joined preparation camp
Along with them, several other players have already joined the camp. These include Mayank Markande, Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Raja Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar and Ashwani Kumar.
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Senior players like Jasprit Bumrah and captain Hardik Pandya are expected to join the squad soon.
The first training session focused mainly on fitness. Players went through drills, agility exercises and basic fitness tests under the guidance of the support staff.
Head coach Mahela Jayawardene on the team's preparations
Head coach Mahela Jayawardene spoke about how important the first day of pre-season is for setting the right mindset.
“There’s always something special about the first day of pre-season. You see the players walk in, the energy builds, and the objective is to start strong. We’ve got the boys who know this franchise inside out, and we have got some exciting new faces coming in," he said.
“Day one sets the tone for the entire campaign. We wanted everyone to feel the intent from the very first session, in how we train, how we prepare, and how we show up for each other. The first session is always exciting, but it’s also the start of something serious and we know what we’re building towards," he added.
Mumbai Indians, who made it to the playoffs last season, will start their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium.