Mumbai, Aug 2026 : Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians have appointed former first-class cricketer and experienced coach Zubin Bharucha as their Director of Performance, strengthening the franchise’s focus on player development and talent identification across its global cricket ecosystem.
Bharucha joins Mumbai Indians after serving as the Director of High Performance at Rajasthan Royals, a position he held from November 2022 until his departure following the 2025 IPL season.
Announcing the appointment, Mumbai Indians said Bharucha would work closely with the franchise’s existing multi-disciplinary leadership team across various performance-related areas.
“Zubin Bharucha joins Mumbai Indians as Director of Performance and will work closely with the existing multi-disciplinary leadership group across all performance disciplines within the MI ecosystem,” the franchise said.
The franchise added that Bharucha would become part of its integrated support structure and contribute to Mumbai Indians’ established approach towards long-term player development and sustained performance.
Bharucha brings extensive experience in Indian domestic cricket, the IPL and high-performance programmes. A right-handed batter, he represented Mumbai and Surrey during the 1990s and made 17 first-class and 11 List A appearances before moving into coaching and cricket administration.
His association with Rajasthan Royals began during the inaugural IPL season in 2008, when he served as Team Director. He continued in that role until 2015 before moving to Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, where he worked as Technical Director from 2016 to 2017.
Bharucha subsequently returned to Rajasthan Royals in 2018 as Director of Cricket Operations and later moved into the role of Director of High Performance.
During his tenure with Rajasthan Royals, Bharucha played an important role in developing several Indian players who went on to establish themselves at the highest level. His work included mentoring Sanju Samson, as well as contributing to the development of players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi through the franchise’s high-performance centre in Talegaon.
His appointment comes as Mumbai Indians look to strengthen their overall cricketing structure following a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign in which the franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs.
According to sources, Bharucha’s responsibilities at Mumbai Indians will extend beyond the senior team and encompass broader talent development and scouting initiatives across the franchise’s men’s and women’s programmes.
A source said Bharucha would focus on further strengthening Mumbai Indians’ scouting system and expanding year-round player development programmes. His responsibilities are also expected to include off-season training aimed at improving players’ technical and tactical skills.
At the same time, Bharucha will work towards expanding the franchise’s existing talent identification network and ensuring that promising players are tracked and developed over a longer period.
The appointment reflects Mumbai Indians’ intention to build a stronger and more comprehensive player-development pathway, linking scouting, coaching, performance analysis and long-term talent management across its wider cricketing ecosystem.
