Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was benched following an injury scare ahead of their game against the Lucknow Super Giants. Ryan Rickelton offered the latest insight on the current injury status of the MI skipper.
Mumbai Indians brought back Hardik Pandya, the seasoned all-rounder, to their camp after two promising seasons as captain of the Gujarat Titans. However, his fate has gone wrong ever since his comeback to the MI side.
However, Hardik has missed out on a few occasions for the Mumbai Indians due to his frequent struggles with an injury. In his absence, the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav has led the Mumbai Indians on a number of occasions.
Ryan Rickelton updates on Hardik Pandya’s injury after the win against LSG
After their third win of the season, in which Ryan Rickelton played a massive role with the bat, he was seen in the post-match conference for the Mumbai Indians. The South African cricketer had then revealed his bond with Quinton de Kock.
He was asked for an update on his skipper, Hardik Pandya, who missed the game against the Lucknow Super Giants. Ryan Rickelton revealed that he suffered from back spasms, and that he is still unaware of the severity of his injury and is uncertain about his possible return.
“I don’t know when he’s expected to be back. I found out this afternoon that he had back spasms, so I’m unaware of the extent of it. I don’t want to call it an injury; I’m unaware of the extent of how bad it is or what he’s feeling. But I’m sure he’ll be with the group again as we head to Raipur this week,” he said.
Suryakumar Yadav has led MI twice in IPL 2026
Hardik Pandya ended the Mumbai Indians’ losing streak in the first game of every season after 13 years; however, Suryakumar Yadav has replaced him every time. Hardik Pandya has missed out on leading the Mumbai Indians.
Back in their second game of the season against the Delhi Capitals, Suryakumar had led them in 2026, where MI lost their first game of the season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, that was the last game; Surya played a promising knock with a half-century.
Now back at their home ground, Suryakumar stepped in as their skipper and ended Mumbai’s winning streak. He revealed at the toss that Hardik was missing due to some illness, and he had stepped into his shoes.
Rohit Sharma’s special at Wankhede helped MI chase another mammoth score
Rohit Sharma, the MI opener, returned for the Mumbai Indians this season following a long absence after his injury. The 39-year-old legendary Indian batter has reached the twilight of his cricketing career and is enjoying his final few days in the IPL.
Rohit started this season with a sporadic 78 against the Kolkata Knight Riders; however, after that game, he was soon ruled out when he was seen struggling with his hamstring in a game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In his comeback game, Rohit opened with the in-form Ryan Rickelton and added 143 runs for the first wicket. Rohit played a promising knock of 84 runs while striking at 190. He took the Mumbai Indians close to the target, as MI chased another massive 225+ target.
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