Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday after failing to receive clearance from the franchise’s medical team.
“Hardik has not been cleared by the medical team to take the field,” MI said in a statement before the match.
In Pandya’s absence, Suryakumar Yadav captained the side. Speaking at the toss, the stand-in skipper said MI were backing themselves despite the pressure surrounding the game.
“We are pretty confident to bat first. Big ground, black soil wicket and runs on the board will always be pressure on the other team,” Suryakumar said.
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“We are going with the same team. We have always had a good chat around the bowling. It’s harsh on the bowlers. We keep trying to improve and get better each day,” he said at the toss, which his side lost and were put into bat by RCB.
The MI skipper had also sat out the previous game against Lucknow Super Giants, with the franchise then attributing his absence to illness and back spasms.
“Hardik Pandya is unwell with back spasm, hence Suryakumar Yadav is captain for today’s game,” MI had said in a statement ahead of that fixture.
This was the third match Pandya missed during IPL 2026 and the second in succession. He had earlier missed MI’s clash against Delhi Capitals in Delhi last month due to illness as well. Surya had led MI in that match and scored a fifty, but it went in vain as DC chased down the score in the second innings.
The all-rounder’s fitness concerns arrive at a critical stage of the tournament, with MI battling to stay alive in the playoff race. He has had a disappointing IPL 2026, having scored only 146 runs in 11 matches this season and picked up four wickets with the ball.
