Mumbai Indians have had a torrid time in the IPL 2026. The five-time champions, led by Hardik Pandya have had a shocking start to the tournament, having lost seven out of their first nine games and look set to be eliminated before the knockouts stage. Despite being mathematically alive in the competition, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings are ahead of them on the points table. Mumbai last won the IPL trophy in the 2020 season under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Since then, it has all been downhill for the franchise. The decision to replace Rohit with Hardik as the captain seems to have backfired with the team finding it hard to strike a winning formula. It has not only been about the captaincy, the team has also missed out on a few crucial players in the squad. In this article, we will take a look at four such players who were released by Mumbai Indians in last couple of years. 4 Players Mumbai Indians Shouldn’t Have Released Tim David Tim David represented Mumbai Indians from 2022 to 2024. He scored 658 runs at a blistering strike rate of 171.35 but was not retained by the franchise. Now a part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad, David has been in fine touch scoring 379 runs in 17 innings at an astonishing average of 63.17 and strike rate of 186.27. His finishing ability has been clearly missed by Mumbai, who have looked brittle in the lower middle order with Sherfane Rutherford and Mitchell Santner failing to perform consistently. David's powerful hitting could have been a game-changer for the Mumbai Indians. Also Read | Did Hardik Pandya Refuse Handshake with Ruturaj Gaikwad? Truth Behind Viral IPL 2026 Video Jofra Archer Jofra Archer was signed by Mumbai Indians in 2022 but had an injury-plagued tenure. The pacer now represents the Rajasthan Royals and has seemed to have rediscovered his form in IPL 2026, taking 15 wickets in 10 games at a strike rate of 14. The pace bowling attack has looked fragile this season, with Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult also failing to make an early impact and the availability of Archer could have made a real difference. Ishan Kishan Ishan Kishan was once a vital part of the Mumbai lineup and has played many crucial innings over the years, scoring 2,325 runs for the side. After his departure from MI, he has done quite well for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In ongoing IPL, Kishan has scored 354 runs in 10 matches at a massive strike rate of 189.30 and Mumbai are suffering at the top order and in the middle order. His absence has definitely been felt. Anshul Kamboj Anshul Kamboj was not given enough chances by Mumbai and was released before the 2025 auction. He was picked by Chennai Super Kings and has turned out to be a vital player for them. In IPL 2026, Kamboj has already taken 17 wickets and is in the leading wicket-takers list. Mumbai, meanwhile went in for experienced pacers such as Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, however it has not gone their way as things stand, and Kamboj may have been a better option long term.