Mumbai Indians are most likely to be without the services of regular captain Hardik Pandya in their next Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Raipur on May 10. The all-rounder missed the previous game against LSG as well, with stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav explaining the former’s absence as a result of him being unwell, while the franchise said so otherwise. Pandya is no stranger to having back injuries, having suffered them multiple times in the past, which forced him to be on the sidelines for a long time.
Hardik Pandya to miss RCB vs MI clash
As per Cricbuzz, Hardik hasn’t travelled with the rest of the Mumbai Indians squad to Raipur for the contest against RCB on May 10. The report claims that the franchise hasn’t issues any official statement regarding the skipper’s absence but there is also no indication if Hardik will join the side closer to the match. While stand-in captain SKY claimed that Hardik had to sit out of the contest as he was unwell, the franchise said in a statement that the latter couldn’t take the field due to back spasm. Last year, Hardik was forced to check into the BCCI’s CoE for rehabilitation after limping off the field during a Champions Trophy game.
“The MI players had assembled at Terminal 1 (domestic) of Mumbai airport, but the skipper was conspicuous by his absence. There is no immediate indication that Pandya will join the team closer to the match but no one is still confirming it,” the report stated.
Mumbai Indians find themselves in a perilous position in IPL 2026, after managing to win just 3 out of 10 games so far. Even if they win the remainder of the matches, there are very little chances of the five-time champions making it to the IPL 2026 playoffs. However, unbothered about the results in the current season so far, MI have decided to retain Pandya as the captain.
Pandya took over as MI captain after his move from GT in 2024 and replaced Rohit Sharma as skipper – a move that did not go down well with the fans. In 2024, they finished 10th on the points table, followed by a fourth-placed finish in 2025 and now are languishing at the 9th spot in 2026. There has been a lot of chatter about Hardik’s captaincy in the recent past, but MI has opted to steer clear of that.
Talking about Hardik’s form in IPL 2026, he has scored 146 from 8 matches and has taken just 4 wickets.
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