Royal Challengers Bengaluru's key pace all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar has been sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring tweak, as confirmed by head coach Malolan Rangarajan after their thrilling opener against Mumbai Indians on Friday (January 9).
The injury struck just before her release from Bengaluru's Centre of Excellence (CoE), where she was already rehabbing a shoulder problem. RCB edged a last-ball win in their WPL 2026 campaign starter, thanks to Nadine de Klerk's match-winning 63* off 44 balls, securing victory with three wickets remaining.
"Pooja Vastrakar was not available for selection [against Mumbai Indians]," Malolan said following RCB's opening game of WPL 2026.
"Two weeks prior to her release from the CoE (Centre of Excellence in
Bengaluru), she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring. The information that we have is that she will be there for two weeks more. Earlier, she was there [at the CoE] for her shoulder, now she has a hamstring issue. It's a week by week process. So let's see where she is at. "
On the other side, Mumbai Indians missed out on all-rounder Hayley Matthews, who nursed a minor shoulder strain from training. She's on the cusp of a return, per head coach Lisa Keightley.
"Unfortunately, her shoulder isn't great. While training, she got a slight strain and she's really close (to play). It was a bit too close for her to play tonight. We will see how she goes tomorrow, and if she's fit for tomorrow's game. But she is really close. "
