The Mumbai Indians (MI) have signed Keshav Maharaj for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after Mitchell Santner was ruled out with a shoulder injury.
MI replace Maharaj with Santner
The New Zealand all-rounder had hurt his left shoulder while taking a catch against the Chennai Super Kings on April 23. Santner was replaced with Shardul Thakur during the match, as he’d hurt his head, and the concussion substitution rule came into effect. Subsequently, Santner missed the Gujarat Titans match on April 26.
“Mumbai Indians wish Santner a full recovery and look forward to seeing him back in action soon.” the franchise said in a statement.
Maharaj had gone unsold in the IPL 2026 auction and has played 2 matches in the league for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2024. He joins MI for a fee of INR 75 lakh. The Proteas spinner was part of South Africa’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign and recently led in a 5-match away series against New Zealand.
Keshav Maharaj T20 bowling stats
| Format | Innings | Wickets | Best Figures | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL | 2 | 2 | 2/23 | 19.50 | 6.50 | 18.0 |
| T20Is | 54 | 55 | 3/24 | 26.30 | 7.87 | 20.0 |
| T20s | 208 | 191 | 4/15 | 27.63 | 7.12 | 23.2 |
MI’s other injury issue, aka Rohit Sharma’s fitness
MI has solved one injury concern, but they have another. Rohit Sharma had sustained a hamstring injury during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru match on April 12 and has missed 3 matches since. He’s been practising but hasn’t been able to play. In his absence, Danish Malewar has been opening the batting but hasn’t found success, with 2 runs in 2 matches.
Reports suggest that Rohit could be fit for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) match on April 29. We’ll have to wait for an update in the pre-match press conference or for Hardik Pandya to announce the team at the toss.
