The Mumbai Indians (MI) have historically started slowly and picked up mid-season. They’d like to follow that trend in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. After losing four games on the trot, MI finally crossed the finish line against the Gujarat Titans. Jasprit Bumrah picked up a wicket, and Tilak Varma returned to form. Another positive was Will Jacks joining the squad.
Will Rohit Sharma play the MI vs CSK match?
But there’s a concern as well. MI’s former captain and current opener, Rohit Sharma, isn’t certain to feature against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 23. Rohit had sustained a hamstring injury against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 12 and has missed two matches since.
Rohit isn’t certain to start in the MI vs CSK match. He has been training at the Wankhede Stadium for the CSK game, but isn’t certain to play. On the eve of IPL’s El Clásico in Mumbai, the spokesperson for the franchise stated that Rohit is being assessed by the medical team and will take a call at the toss.
“Rohit Sharma is still being assessed. A decision on him playing or not would be taken at 7 pm tomorrow at the toss,” the MI spokesperson told reporters in Mumbai.
Will Jacks in; who goes out?
If Rohit doesn’t play, Danish Malewar, who made his IPL and T20 debut on April 20, will continue to be Quinton de Kock’s opening partner. Even if Rohit isn’t available, MI will have to make a change. As mentioned above, Jacks has linked up with the team.
As the best all-rounder in the T20 World Cup 2026, the Englishman is expected to walk into the team. But the question is, who does he replace? Quinton will continue to play as the wicketkeeper. Allah Ghazanfar has picked 2 wickets in each of the last 3 matches and isn’t a like-for-like player as a mystery spinner.
Mitchell Santner and Sherfane Rutherford are the remaining options. The former is an all-rounder as well, but is primarily a bowler. Jacks is the opposite; he’s a batter before a bowler. That leaves Rutherford, who is the designated finisher. The Englishman was playing the same role for England in the T20 World Cup. That too, with immense success.
But unlike Rutherford, Jacks bowls off-spin as well. This means he’ll be an upgrade. At least on paper, since we don’t know what kind of form he’s in, since he hasn’t played since March 5, the semifinal against India. But MI will most likely take that tough call, since it covers more bases.
Predicted MI Playing XI vs CSK
| S. No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quinton de Kock✈️ | Wicketkeeper |
| 2 | Danish Malewar | Opener |
| 3 | Naman Dhir | Top-order batter |
| 4 | Suryakumar Yadav | Middle-order batter |
| 5 | Tilak Varma | Middle-order batter |
| 6 | Hardik Pandya (c) | All-rounder |
| 7 | Will Jacks✈️ | Batting all-rounder |
| 8 | Mitchell Satner✈️ | Bowling all-rounder |
| 9 | Allah Ghazanfar✈️ | Mystery spinner |
| 10 | Jasprit Bumrah | Right-arm fast bowler |
| 11 | Ashwani Kumar | Left-arm fast bowler |
| Impact Sub | Krish Bhagat/ Raghu Sharma |
