IPL 2026: Hardik Pandya doesn't travel with MI squad for RCB match in Raipur- Report

Suryakumar Yadav captained MI against LSG in Hardik Pandya's absence.

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya is reportedly not travelling with the MI squad for their next IPL 2026 game. MI is set to clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 10, 2026, at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.

As per the Cricbuzz report, the MI players had assembled at Terminal 1 of the Mumbai airport for the journey to Raipur, but Hardik Pandya was conspicuously absent. Pandya's arrival on the team closer to the game is not immediately apparent.

Notably, Hardik Pandya had missed their previous game in Mumbai against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to back spasms, being the official reason. Suryakumar Yadav captained the MI team against LSG and led the team to a win by 6 wickets.

"He's not well tonight, so I'm just stepping into his shoes. But otherwise, everything is fine," Suryakumar had explained at the toss of that game.

Given the team's defeat and Pandya's lackluster performance with the bat and bowl, there is some question as to whether his absence is due to something other than an injury. Officials from the Mumbai Indians took great care to clarify that there is no more information regarding his absence from the game on May 4.

"Hardik Pandya is unwell with a back spasm; hence, Suryakumar Yadav is captain for today's game," the franchise said in a statement.

Pandya looked fine at Chepauk last Saturday (May 2) night when CSK beat MI by eight wickets. He bowled two overs and batted at No 6, scoring an underwhelming 18 off 23 deliveries.

Hardik Pandya has not fired with the bat or the ball in IPL 2026. He has scored 146 runs in eight games, with a strike rate of 136.45. His bowling performance has also been disappointing, with only four wickets in eight outings.

He has a win percentage of 37.83 as MI captain across 37 matches and three seasons, with 14 wins and 23 losses.

MI is placed ninth on the points table in IPL 2026, with three wins from 10 matches. They have four games remaining—against Punjab Kings on May 14 (away), Kolkata Knight Riders on May 20 (away), and Rajasthan Royals on May 24 (home).

With the game against RCB still in hand, if MI wins all the games, they will reach 14 points from 14 games, a difficult scenario for them to qualify for the playoffs.

(Cricbuzz report)