Hardik Pandya has reportedly recovered from his back spasm issue and is all in likelihood to be back to leading Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 54 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday, May 10, at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
Hardik had missed the MI’s previous fixture against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium due to the back issue that he sustained during the preceding clash with Chennai Super Kings. In his absence, vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav had stepped up to lead the side against LSG, as MI clinched a comfortable win to keep themselves alive in the race for the playoffs.
Hardik was not seen at the Mumbai airport’s departure terminal ahead of the squad’s planned travel to Raipur for the upcoming clash, which indicated that he may continue to be out of action. However, The Times of India has reported that Hardik will be reaching the host city on Thursday, May 07, alongside a few other members of the squad.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar, who had filled Hardik’s void in the previous clash, is likely to be unavailable for the Raipur encounter. The Indian cricketer is expecting the delivery of his first child with wife Devisha Shetty and may be with the family for the special occasion. As a result, fans can expect at least a couple of forced changes in MI’s playing XI for the Sunday tie.
Hardik’s is one of the multiple injury blows the Mumbai-based franchise has dealt throughout the season thus far. Apart from a few cases of players being ruled out of IPL 2026, MI also missed the services of Rohit Sharma after the RCB clash in Wankhede. He returned to action against LSG and entertained the crowd with a superb knock at the top to help MI chase the daunting total with seven balls to spare.
Mumbai Indians predicted playing XI vs RCB
Ryan Rickelton (wicketkepeer), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Robin Minz, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Raghu Sharma, Shardul Thakur, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Player: Rohit Sharma
