Mumbai Indians (MI) have appointed former Rajasthan Royals stalwart Zubin Bharucha as their director of performance ahead of IPL 2027. Role & Focus: Bharucha will lead player development within the MI ecosystem, focusing specifically on working with domestic Indian players during the off-season alongside assistant coach Paras Mhambrey. Immediate Start: Bharucha has already assumed his responsibilities and is currently touring South Africa with a cohort of young MI players alongside Mhambrey. Rajasthan Royals Legacy: Bharucha served as Team Director and Director of Cricket for Rajasthan Royals across most IPL seasons since 2008 (except for a two-year stint at Delhi Daredevils from 2016 to 2017), playing a central role in their acclaimed talent scout and player development setup. Coaching Ecosystem: Bharucha joins MI's existing leadership staff, which features Mahela Jayawardene (head coach), Kieron Pollard (batting coach), and Lasith Malinga (bowling coach), as the five-time champions look to rebuild after missing the playoffs in four of the last six seasons. Highly regarded in Mumbai circles for his cricket acumen, Bharucha joined RR in 2008 as their team director and remained in the position till he joined Daredevils as technical director for two seasons (2016 and 2017) before returning to Royals as their director of cricket, a post he held from 2018 to 2025. MI, who are five-time winners of the IPL but have failed to make the playoffs in four of the last six seasons, finishing ninth and tenth on three of those occasions, have among their support staff Mahela Jayawardene (head coach), Kieron Pollard (batting coach) and Lasith Malinga (bowling coach).