For any budding cricketer, there are few moments bigger than hearing your name called out at an IPL auction. Same was the case with Atharva Ankolekar, who was over the moon on December 16. At the IPL 2026 player auction, his dream franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), picked him up at his base price of INR 30 lakh, handing the 25-year-old left-arm spinning all-rounder his maiden IPL contract.
Cricket 5 mins IPL 2026 faces new challenge as overseas players remain uncertain due to Middle East tensionsAtharva Ankolekar ruled out of IPL 2026
Less than three months later, that dream has been put on hold. Ankolekar will miss IPL 2026 after undergoing knee surgery following a meniscus tear sustained during a Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Hyderabad in January. Fielding at long-on at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, he slid in an attempt to save a boundary and immediately collapsed in pain. He was stretchered off, visibly distraught, and had to undergo a surgery.
The surgery was performed by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwalla at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. As per the Times of India, the developments described it as a case of “terrible timing”, adding that Ankolekar has been dealing with a “locked knee”. For a player on the verge of his first IPL season, it is a cruel setback.
A tough blow for Atharva Ankolekar as knee surgery rules him out of IPL 2026.Source: TOI#IPL2026 #MumbaiIndians #AtharvaAnkolekar #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/l7MkP9L9zD
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) March 1, 2026Who is Atharva Ankolekar, the new MI player?
Ankolekar isn’t an overnight sensation. The son of a BEST bus conductor, he first caught the country’s attention with a stunning 5 for 28 in the 2019 Under-19 World Cup final against Bangladesh. He was in the Under-19 team alongside the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel and Ravi Bishnoi.
He was among the standout performers in Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title run in 2024-25, picking up three wickets at an economy of 6.33 and smashing a vital 16 not out off six balls in the final against Madhya Pradesh. Across 25 T20 matches, he has claimed 19 wickets and maintained a strike rate of nearly 157 with the bat, showing that he has the ability to hit runs lower down the order as well.
His form had been trending upward. He became the most expensive player in the T20 Mumbai League last year when Eagle Thane Strikers signed him for INR 16.25 lakh. In local cricket, he produced eye-catching performances, including an unbeaten 128 in the Police Shield final, followed by a five-wicket haul. In the Ranji match where he was injured, he had already contributed a brisk 35 off 22 balls as Mumbai piled up 560. Ironically, he himself had been a last-minute replacement for an injured teammate in Shams Mulani.
With Ankolekar now injured, Mumbai Indians can have the option of replacing him for the season. Players like Karn Sharma and Kumar Kartikeya could be perfect if MI need spinners. However, Abhinav Manohar can be an excellent pick as well, as MI lack backup Indian batter who they can trust to start in the playing XI right from the beginning.
Full Mumbai Indians (MI) squad for IPL 2026
AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande (traded), Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Shardul Thakur (traded), Sherfane Rutherford (traded), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Danish Malewar (INR 30 lakh), Quinton de Kock (INR 1 Cr), Atharva Ankolekar (INR 30 lakh) (injured), Mayank Rawat (INR 30 lakh), Mohammad Izhar (INR 30 lakh)
Young Mumbai Indians spinner ruled out of IPL 2026 due to injury Inside Sport India.
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