MI captain Hardik Pandya and SRH captain Pat Cummins during the toss. (Photo credit: IPL) NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians players were seen wearing black armbands during the IPL 2026 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, with the franchise confirming the sincere reason behind the gesture.In an official statement, Mumbai Indians revealed that the armbands were worn following the untimely death of a support staff member’s daughter.Current Score: MI vs SRH, IPL 2026“Due to the untimely death of the daughter of our support staff, Mumbai Indians players will be wearing black armbands today in remembrance and solidarity with the family,” news agency ANI quoted the franchise as saying.The moment added an emotional layer to what was otherwise a high-stakes encounter in IPL 2026, with players uniting to support one of their own behind the scenes.Throw out team decisions and updatesOn the field, MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bat first, citing favorable conditions.“Looks like a good, windy day… I don’t think the dew will play a part. We’ll just bat and see how much we can score,” Hardik said.He also spoke about the team’s approach recently: “It’s been important to reset, not make it too complicated… we’ve had good training sessions and we just want to go out and play our best cricket.”Rohit Sharma still asideOne of the main talking points remained the absence of Rohit Sharma, who continues to recover.“Rohit will take a few more games… it’s not where he wants to be, so he’s not available,” Hardik confirmed, outlining a cautious timetable for a comeback.Opener Quinton de Kock also missed out due to a wrist problem, Ryan Rickelton and Robin Minz made the XI.SRH captain Pat Cummins said he expected a bit more difficult surface.“It can be a bit sticky … just execute the skills and don’t think about it,” Cummins noted, adding that quick adaptation would be key.
MI vs SRH Playing XI
- Mumbai Indians XI: Ryan Rickelton (w), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora (w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga.
