Raghu Sharma finally lived his dream when he made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians (MI) against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The 33-year-old leg-spinner is Punjab’s domestic player, who was given the MI cap by skipper Hardik Pandya just before the toss and after patiently waiting on the sidelines, stepped into the big scene.
Hardik Pandya confirms Raghu Sharma’s debut
“We have one debutant, the leggie (Raghu Sharma) is playing his first match,” Pandya said after winning the toss in a must-win clash.
Hardik won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a good pitch. Raghu Sharma has been named in the list of impact substitutes and is expected to come into play during the second innings as Mumbai Indians chase a vital win in their IPL 2026 campaign.
Raghu Sharma’s journey into the IPL limelight
Raghu Sharma was picked by Mumbai Indians as a replacement for injured pacer Vignesh Puthur ahead of the 2025 season for a modest ₹30 lakhs. Although he didn’t win a single game that year, the franchise showed faith and retained him for IPL 2026.
Interestingly, Raghu started his career as a fast bowler before switching to leg-spin to break into the Punjab home side. He idolizes spin greats Shane Warne and Imran Tahir and has worked hard to establish himself at the age of 33.
His selection is supported by impressive career statistics
Before his IPL debut, Raghu Sharma had played only four T20 matches and took four wickets. His first-class record stands out with 57 wickets in 12 matches at an impressive average of 22.03, while he picked up 18 wickets in 12 List A matches. These numbers show why Mumbai Indians trusted him in a high-pressure game.
CSK vs MI: Team changes and playing XI
For this crucial encounter, Mumbai Indians dropped Ashwani Kumar and brought back Krish Bhagat. Rohit Sharma continues to be sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained on April 12 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar.
Impact Subs: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar.
Chennai Super Kings made three changes, bringing back Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary and Prashant Veer.
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary
Impact Subs: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Gurjapneet Singh
