Shams Zakir Mulani, born on 13 March 1997 in Raigad, Maharashtra, is a left-handed all-rounder who bowls slow left-arm orthodox spin. He developed through Mumbai’s age-group system, representing the state at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-23 levels. Mulani captained Mumbai’s Under-19 side to the Cooch Behar Trophy title in the 2015-16 season, an early indication of his leadership qualities and all-round ability.

Mulani began his senior career with Mumbai during the 2017-18 domestic season. He made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January 2018 and his List A debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in February that year, taking four wickets in his first List A appearance. He subsequently made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy.

His breakthrough came in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy. Mulani finished the competition as the leading wicket-taker with 45 wickets in 11 innings, including a five-wicket haul in the final against Madhya Pradesh. Mumbai lost the final, but his sustained impact across the tournament earned him the BCCI’s Madhavrao Scindia Award for the highest wicket-taker and the Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder.

The 2021-22 season established Mulani as one of India’s leading domestic spin-bowling all-rounders. His effectiveness was not limited to taking wickets, he contributed valuable lower-order runs and gave Mumbai balance by combining a specialist spinner’s workload with dependable batting. That combination also made him a recurring member of India A, West Zone and Rest of India squads.

Mulani’s first association with the Mumbai Indians came as a net bowler during the franchise’s victorious 2020 IPL campaign. He was later signed by the franchise and made his IPL debut against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad on 24 March 2024. His IPL opportunities have remained limited, partly because franchises generally prefer overseas or specialist options when selecting spin-bowling all-rounders.

His domestic reputation, however, continued to grow. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, Mulani was part of a strong Mumbai all-rounders’ group that included Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian. Mumbai repeatedly relied on such players to recover from difficult positions, with Mulani contributing through both his left-arm spin and lower-order batting.

Mulani has also produced notable individual performances for Mumbai in subsequent Ranji seasons. Against Odisha in November 2024, he claimed 11 wickets in the match and played a decisive role in Mumbai’s victory. Such performances reinforced his value in first-class cricket, where his ability to bowl extended spells and bat in the lower middle order makes him particularly effective over four-day matches.

Mulani continued to excel in higher-level representative fixtures. Playing for India A against India D in the September 2024 Duleep Trophy match in Anantapur, he earned Player of the Match honors after scoring a crucial 89 runs in the first innings and taking 3 for 117 with the ball. In October 2024, he took 3 for 122 to help Mumbai secure the Irani Cup against Rest of India based on a first-innings lead in Lucknow.

Starting the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season in October 2025, Mulani scored 91 runs and took a career-best second-innings haul of 7 for 46 to lead Mumbai to a tense 35-run win against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar. After briefly missing a fixture in early 2026 due to a bladder infection, he returned to Mumbai's lineup for key matches against Delhi and Karnataka.

In June 2026, he represented Aakash Tigers MWS in the T20 Mumbai League at the Wankhede Stadium, taking consistent multi-wicket hauls. During the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy quarter-final in August 2026, playing for West Zone against North Zone, Mulani scored 52 runs in the first innings and recorded 4/78 in the second.

His continued relevance at representative level was evident in India A’s 2026 campaign. On 23 September 2026, the BCCI reported that Mulani had spearheaded India A’s charge in the first unofficial Test against Australia A, highlighting his ongoing importance in the pathway between domestic cricket and the senior international side.