Senior India cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 12) ended prematurely due to injuries. While Kohli didn’t take the field after Royal Challengers
Bengaluru (RCB)’s first innings because of an ankle issue, Rohit suffered a hamstring injury while batting in the second essay, forcing him to retire hurt and leave the field after playing only 13 balls.
Kohli scored 50 off 38 balls, a slow knock per his recent standards. He was seen sitting in the dugout during the second innings. Rohit, meanwhile, scored 19 runs and called for physio attention in the 16th over. After a brief break, he played another ball before deciding to walk off. Both legends, especially Kohli, have had mostly injury-free careers, but these issues are quite common on the wrong side of 30.
Kohli last missed IPL matches in the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury. Rohit has had more troubles in comparison, even when he has vastly improved his overall fitness.
Who can replace Virat Kohli at RCB?
RCB have a couple of Indian options in their squad to replace Kohli. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer could open alongside Phil Salt, while they also have Under-19 batter Vihaan Malhotra. Jacob Bethell and Jordon Cox would be more attractive options, but that would need RCB to drop an overseas player (like finisher Tim David or all-rounder Romario Shepherd) and thus change their combination.
Who can replace Rohit Sharma at MI?
Even at MI, the team would prefer the likes of Will Jacks and Quinton de Kock as the first choice, but might have to go with someone like Robin Minz to avoid unbalancing the team. However, after the defeat in this match, that might not be too bad an option, especially when the team’s batting and bowling departments are struggling almost equally.
