Hardik Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
NEW DELHI: When will Hardik Pandya make a comeback? How serious is his injury? When will the Mumbai Indians captain return to action? These are some of the questions that are ruling the social media as Pandya has now missed three consecutive matches for Mumbai Indians.Sidelined by back spasms, Pandya first missed Mumbai Indians’ home match against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4. He then sat out the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur despite traveling with the team. Suryakumar Yadav led the party in his absence. Pandya also did not travel to Dharamsala for Mumbai Indians’ six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, where Jasprit Bumrah became MI’s third captain this season after Suryakumar missed the match following the birth of his child.Mumbai Indians all-rounder Shardul Thakur gave a major update on Pandya, confirming that the all-rounder’s absence from the last three matches was due to injury.Shardul also hinted that Pandya could return for Mumbai Indians’ next match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on May 20, dismissing speculation about the MI skipper’s future with the franchise.“Hardík is injured, so he couldn’t travel for a few matches,” Thakur said during Thursday’s post-match media interaction.“He went to Raipur (for the RCB match on May 10) but could not play. Now he is training in Mumbai and I expect him to be back in Kolkata and play (at Eden Gardens on May 20). The players like them, we always lack quality,” Thakur added.Mumbai Indians have already been eliminated from IPL 2026 and Pandya’s poor form has been one of the main reasons behind the team’s disappointing campaign.The all-rounder has had a tough season as both captain and player.In eight innings, Pandya scored 146 runs at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44, with a top score of 40. He took just four wickets with the ball at an average of 61.50 and an economy rate of nearly 11.90 in 20.4 overs.
