IPL 2026: Mohammed Shami To MI? 3 Teams Shami Can Be A Perfect Fit For

Mohammed Shami had a troublesome season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. After having a great IPL 2023 where he won the purple cap, Shami suffered a big injury and missed the next season. 

The speedster made a comeback in both the Indian team and the IPL. While for the Indian team, he went on to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, it was not the case for him in the IPL. 

Shami’s IPL 2025 numbers read- six wickets in nine matches at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 30, the worst in his IPL career. Even after this, he remains one of the most sought-after commodities in the IPL as a pace bowler.

If SRH do go for a trade or release him altogether to get INR 10 Cr in the purse, here are three teams that Shami could be a perfect fit for.

Mumbai Indians (MI) 

The Mumbai Indians (MI) are definitely in search of a great Indian pacer, not only to replace Deepak Chahar, who was not a great addition, but also to cover for Jasprit Bumrah if he doesn’t do well. 

Shami could be the perfect fit for the MI set-up as he bowls great lengths, which is ideal on the Wankhede pitch where MI play their home games. The right-arm pacer might be in his late 30s, but is still a force to reckon with, be it the new ball or the old. 

Given his strengths and past performances, including his deadly pairing with Bumrah, MI will be more than just interested in him.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are, as it is called, the Daddy’s Army of the IPL, and with Shami crossing 35 by the start of the IPL 2026, he might be headed in the right direction if he goes to CSK indeed. 

More than being part of the Daddy’s Army, Shami would give CSK the freedom to experiment with their batting without worrying too much about their bowling as they would have a great quartet of Shami, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana to choose the three to feature in their playing 11 as fast bowlers. 

In a right-left combination with Khaleel, Shami could be the great asset that CSK and their skipper, MS Dhoni, have been looking to bank on. They did not find success with one veteran, Ravichandran Ashwin, but might do so with another.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

The economy rates of all the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacers in IPL 2025 were in excess of 10, while none of their spinners went for more than 8.5 an over. It implies that the pacers were a problem for KKR, even at home. 

With Shami being a local boy who knows Eden Gardens inside out, he could be the perfect fit. He can not only get the fast bowling unit in line for KKR, but also guide Indian youngsters Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana. 

Although they have wickets to show for, both Rana (retained) and Arora (bought back in auction) proved to be inefficient for the Knight Riders, and thus, having Shami makes all the more sense. The Bengal pacer can bring in the impact and spark that has been missing in KKR ever since the release of Mitchell Starc.