NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya joined his MI teammates in Raipur ahead of their next Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday.Pandya missed MI’s last match against LSG due to back spasm on Monday. His niggle is said to be minor and he has been advised to rest for the match against LSG.“Signed in to Raipur,” MI posted on social media along with a photo of Hardik Pandya on Thursday.A full training session is scheduled at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium and Pandya is likely to practice in the nets on Friday.With seven defeats and three wins, Mumbai Indians are languishing at the ninth spot in the points table and need to win each of their remaining matches to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Mumbai Indians are ninth in the table with just six points after 10 matches and have only an outside chance of making the playoffs.It remains to be seen how Pandya, who has missed two matches in this edition of the IPL due to health issues, will line up in the must-win clash against defending champions RCB at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. While Suryakumar Yadav took the lead in Pandya’s absence, opener Ryan Rickelton said after the match against LSG that he did not have much information on the matter. “I don’t know when he’s expected to come back. I only found out this afternoon that he had spasms in his back. I don’t know the extent of them or how bad it is or what he’s feeling,” Rickelton said.
