Mumbai Indians (MI) look to survive in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as they lock horns with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Wankhede on Monday evening. In a bid to stay afloat after a streak of defeats, the 5-time champions made some significant changes to their line-up.
IPL 2026 | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap
Former captain Rohit Sharma returned to the playing XI after recovering from a hamstring injury. However, captain Hardik Pandya missed out due to health issues. According to an update from the Mumbai Indians, “Hardik Pandya is unwell with a back spasm”, hence Suryakumar Yadav is leading the side.
“He’s (Hardik) not well tonight, so just going into his shoes. But yeah, the rest, everything is fine,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
“There’s definitely, Cobin Bosch comes in for Trent Boult and also our very own Rohit Sharma is back,” he added.
Rohit Sharma’s prolonged absence has hung over the Mumbai Indians’ season like a cloud. A hamstring injury has sidelined Rohit for five games, four of which the Mumbai Indians have lost. With Monday night’s match carrying significant importance, he could opt to return, though the final decision rests with him.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya (146 runs and 4 wickets) and Suryakumar Yadav (186) have had forgettable campaigns till now, which has hampered MI’s journey, more so in Rohit’s absence, who remains on a comeback trail after a hamstring injury earlier this season.
Only two victories in nine games have consigned the five-time IPL winners, the Mumbai Indians, to the penultimate spot in the points table. While their hopes to remain in contention for the IPL playoffs are all but over, there remains an outside chance of qualification.
Playing XIs:
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav.
