Hardik Pandya missed his second consecutive match for Mumbai Indians on Saturday as he remained unavailable for the IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur. It also marked the third time this season that the MI captain has missed match action.
Pandya had already missed Mumbai’s previous clash against Lucknow Super Giants due to a back spasm, with fitness concerns continuing 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: UPDATES | SCORECARD
“Hardik has not been cleared by the medical team to take the field,” MI said while explaining the captain’s absence.
With Pandya unavailable again, Suryakumar Yadav stepped in to lead the side after rejoining the squad following the birth of his daughter earlier this week.
Interestingly, when the Mumbai squad initially travelled to Raipur, neither Hardik nor Suryakumar were with the group. While Suryakumar stayed back due to family commitments, Pandya was still recovering after suffering a back spasm during MI’s recent phase of matches.
Hardik eventually joined the squad in Raipur on May 7, but the franchise decided not to risk him again against RCB.
The MI skipper last featured during Mumbai’s clash against Chennai Super Kings before missing the win over LSG and now the RCB fixture as well.
WHY IS HARDIK PANDYA OUT OF IPL ACTION?
Pandya’s current absence is linked to the back spasm he suffered earlier this week.
The injury is understood to be a minor niggle, but Mumbai’s medical staff advised rest considering the tight schedule and the importance of managing his workload properly.
Even though Hardik travelled to Raipur and was around the squad, 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 both personally and collectively for the franchise captain.
Mumbai have struggled badly for consistency this year, and Hardik’s fitness issues have only added to those problems during the business end of the tournament.
CAN MI QUALIFY FOR IPL 2026 PLAYOFFS?
Mumbai Indians are currently sitting ninth on the IPL 2026 points table with only six points from 10 matches.
With just four league games remaining before the RCB clash, MI’s playoff equation had already become extremely difficult.
The five-time champions now effectively need to win every remaining match and hope results elsewhere also go in their favour to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
While Mumbai did manage to beat Lucknow Super Giants in their previous outing under Suryakumar’s captaincy, the margin for error remains almost non-existent at this stage of the season.
A defeat against RCB would push them even closer towards 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
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
