IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has confirmed that Rohit Sharma will miss a few more matches as the opener continues to recover from a hamstring injury sustained earlier this season. The veteran opener has been sidelined since April 12 after suffering a hamstring injury during Mumbai’s home defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Speaking at the toss, Pandya said Rohit’s recovery will take more time and that the team will not rush him back into action. “Rohit's gonna take a couple of more games. He's been trying, it's not up to exactly where he would want, so not available for the team. Absolutely (on his form). We just want to kind of come out and play the best cricket I know as well. That will definitely help the group and the team,” Pandya said.
Rohit has already missed four matches. His potential return could be around May 10 against RCB or May 14 versus Punjab Kings, although timelines remain uncertain. He has scored 137 runs in four innings this season, including a half-century in the opening match, but his absence has disrupted Mumbai’s top order.
Mumbai have also been dealt additional setbacks as Quinton de Kock ruled out of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to a wrist injury. De Kock, who recently scored an unbeaten century against Punjab Kings, was replaced by Ryan Rickelton in the playing XI.
Earlier, Mitchell Santner was ruled out of the remainder of the season after sustaining a shoulder injury while taking a catch. The franchise signed South African spinner Keshav Maharaj as his replacement.
With multiple key players unavailable, Mumbai Indians have been forced to reshuffle their lineup as they look to revive their campaign in the second half of the tournament.
Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Smaran Ravichandran, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel
Mumbai Indians Impact subs: Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Krish Bhagat, Raj Bawa
