'I Expect Him To...': Shardul Thakur Reveals When Hardik Pandy Will Play For Mumbai Indians

Shardul Thakur has said that Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has been dealing with an injury and after traveling to Raipur for their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Sunday, he returned to Mumbai where he’s been training. Thakur though expects Pandya to be available for the five-time champions’ next IPL 2026 fixture.

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MI defeated Punjab Kings in a high-scoring thriller in Dharamsala on Thursday night and will face Kolkata Knight Riders on May 20 at Eden Gardens following a five-day break.

“Hardik is injured, so he couldn’t travel for a couple of games. He went to Raipur (for the RCB match) but couldn’t play. He is training in Mumbai now and I expect him to be back in Kolkata

and play. Players like them, we always miss the quality,” Thakur told reporters on Thursday.

Pandya last played against Chennai Super Kings on May 2 and has since missed the next three fixtures thanks to back spasm. The allrounder recently shared a couple of short clips from his training session on Instagram signaling he’s nearing full fitness.

In Pandya’s absence, MI were led by Suryakumar Yadav for a couple of games before Jasprit Bumrah stepped in against PBKS. Along with Lucknow Super Giants, MI have been eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoffs race.

MI’s six-wicket win over PBKS was just the fourth of the ongoing competition for the former champions in what has turned out to be an underwhelming season.

MI have now played under three different captains in IPL 2026.

When asked to compare the leadership style of the three, Thakur said: “It’s difficult to rate, because all three of them have different set of ideas, like a particular individual, like you and me also, we would have different set of ideas, and there is no set mantra in cricket that it’s going to give you success.”

“Players are the ones who make captain look good, so as players you have to be proactive, you need to read the game situations, put in your effort, and need to keep the team always above you, and give your best.”

“They bring in a lot of experience, all of them have been match winner for the Indian team, for this franchise also, and you see there would be at least two or three games every season that they would win individually on their individual skills, so that’s the kind of ability which we see.

“And like I have played cricket for quite a few years now, but any youngster seeing them, if they follow them closely, they will see that these guys have amazing ability of winning the game single-handedly, so that motivates the other players, and it also brings in new perspective to their respective games,” he added.