Some stories in cricket start with fireworks… and some begin quietly at the auction table, with a base-price bid and a whole lotta belief.
…And if there’s one team that has truly mastered the art of spotting raw talent before the world even blinks, it’s your very own MUMBAI INDIANS. ✨
Our think tank has picked several stars at nothing but base price… only for them to rise through the ranks, break into national teams and make the cricketing world sit up straight.
These weren’t the big headlines or the blockbuster bidding wars, these were the “trust me, this guy’s got it” kind of signings.
So today, ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, we revisit those iconic finds! These are players picked at Auctions over the last 19 years (not direct signings). Lessss gooooo…
| Year | Player | Base Price | International debut |
| 2008 | Manish Pandey | USD 30,000 | July 2015 |
| Saurabh Tiwary | USD 50,000 | October 2010 | |
| 2012 | Kuldeep Yadav | INR 10,00,000 | March 2017 |
| 2013 | Jasprit Bumrah | INR 10,00,000 | January 2016 |
| 2014 | Ben Dunk | INR 20,00,000 | November 2014 |
| 2015 | Hardik Pandya | INR 10,00,000 | January 2016 |
| Nitish Rana | INR 10,00,000 | July 2021 | |
| 2016 | Jitesh Sharma | INR 10,00,000 | October 2023 |
| 2018 | Mayank Markande | INR 20,00,000 | February 2019 |
| 2021 | Marco Jansen | INR 20,00,000 | December 2021 |
| 2022 | Ramandeep Singh | INR 20,00,000 | November 2024 |
| 2025 | Bevon Jacobs | INR 30,00,000 | July 2025 |
