Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has revealed that captain Hardik Pandya will play the upcoming IPL 2026 game against Rajasthan Royals, set to be played at ACA Stadium on Tuesday. Pandya was ruled out of the previous match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which the five-time champions lost by six wickets. Hardik was not well, and Suryakumar Yadav led the team. The all-rounder returned to the practice session, where he batted and bowled.
“He will be available. He is fit and fine and looks good in net sessions. He was unwell, and there was no injury,” said Mhambrey in the pre-match press conference.
Pandya’s absence forced MI to change their combination, with Corbin Bosch replacing Trent Boult, while Deepak Chahar was also added to the Playing XI.
“You can’t control injuries, and there are enough guys in the team who can come in if someone is not able to make it to the team. We have a team, and there are players who are ready to step in. We had to change the combination. Hardik is an all-rounder, and he can contribute in the batting and bowling departments. Since he was not available, we had to make changes,” he added.
MI will have to deal with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have done well so far in IPL 2026. Jasprit Bumrah will be Mumbai’s trump card against RR.
“Bumrah can trouble the batters with his variations. The batters are finding it hard to read him. He reads the batter’s mind and then executes his plans accordingly. I think that’s his USP,” he concluded.
