Hardik Pandya missed his second consecutive match for Mumbai Indians on Saturday as he remains unavailable for the IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur. It was also the third time this season that the MI captain missed match action.
Pandya had already missed the previous clash in Mumbai against Lucknow Super Giants due to back spasms, with fitness concerns lingering around the all-rounder. Mumbai later confirmed after the toss that their captain had still not been cleared by the medical team.
IPL, RCB vs MI: UPDATE | SCORECARD
“Hardik has not been cleared by the medical team to take the field,” he told MI while explaining the skipper’s absence.
With Pandya unavailable again, Suryakumar Yadav has stepped in to lead the team after rejoining the team following the birth of his daughter earlier this week.
Interestingly, when the Mumbai squad originally traveled to Raipur, neither Hardik nor Suryakumar were with the group. While Suryakumar stayed back due to family commitmentsPandya was still recovering after suffering a back spasm during the recent phase of MI matches.
Hardik eventually joined the team in Raipur on May 7, but the franchise decided not to risk him again against RCB.
The MI captain last featured during the Mumbai encounter against Chennai Super Kings before missing the win over LSG and now the RCB game as well.
WHY IS HARDIK PANDYA OUT OF IPL ACTION?
Pandya’s current absence is related to the back spasm he suffered earlier this week.
The injury is considered a minor one, but Mumbai’s medical staff have advised rest given his busy schedule and the importance of managing his workload properly.
Although Hardik traveled to Raipur and was around the team, he was still not fully cleared in time for the RCB match.
This is now the third time in IPL 2026 that Pandya has missed a match for Mumbai, adding to a frustrating season for the franchise captain both personally and collectively.
Mumbai have struggled a lot with consistency this year and Hardik’s fitness issues only added to those problems during the business end of the tournament.
CAN I QUALIFY FOR IPL 2026 PLAYOFF?
Mumbai Indians are currently ninth in the IPL 2026 points table with just six points from 10 matches.
With just four league matches remaining before the RCB clash, MI’s playoff equation was extremely difficult.
The five-time champions now effectively need to win every remaining game and hope results elsewhere go in their favor to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.
While Mumbai managed to beat Lucknow Super Giants in their previous match under Suryakumar, the margin for error is almost non-existent at this stage of the season.
Defeat against RCB would push them even closer to elimination.
RCB vs MI: Playing XI
Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar.
Impact Subs: Trent Boult, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Shardul Thakur
RCB Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar.
Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Swapnil Singh, Venkatesh Iyer
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
10 May 2026 19:37 IST
