2 min readUpdated: Apr 15, 2026 08:38 PM IST
Former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma batted in the nets and went through a light fitness drill 24 hours before their IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings, offering encouraging signs about his availability. Sharma was first involved in jogging drills before padding up for throwdowns, that lasted around 15-20 minutes, indicating that he could be in contention for Thursday’s match.
The right-hander had sustained a right hamstring injury during the chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday and was forced to retire hurt in the final over of the powerplay on 19.
The franchise had earlier said that the medical team was assessing him and that an official update would follow. “The medical staff is assessing him. An official update will be given when available,” MI said in a statement.
Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Robin Minz and Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar also had batting stints in the nets on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old has registered one fifty-plus score in IPL 2026 so far – a 78 against Kolkata Knight Riders that laid the platform for Mumbai Indians’ successful chase of 221 in the season opener.
The five-time champions head into the contest against Punjab Kings on the back of three consecutive defeats and are currently ninth on the points table.
Captain Hardik Pandya admitted the side needs improvement across departments.
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“I think in the last couple of games, as a bowling unit or even as a batting unit, we’ve been quite catching up in the game rather than leading the game. We really need to reflect, really need to see what best we can do and how we can get that momentum and that click which we require.”
“To be very honest, now a lot of things needs to be rethink. Definitely, it’s not working. Couple of games we have won the toss, but maybe we need to see what other options we have as a batting group or bowling group,” he added.
