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The Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 competition is in the business end as the tournament enters the final two legs of the group stage with two to three games remaining for most of the sides. Already two teams Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are out of the tournament.
Ahead of Mumbai Indians’ next match against struggling Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala, a big news has come from the camp. Hardik Pandya has not traveled with the team before their next match. The captain has not played two consecutive matches for the franchise and is under immense pressure after poor captaincy and the team’s disappointing performance.
Suryakumar Yadav doubtful to play against PBKS?
Apart from Hardik Pandya, MI stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav has also not gone to Dharamshala. However, his absence is understandable due to personal reasons, as he and his wife Devisha Shetty were recently blessed with a baby girl. SKY has been captaining the team for the last two matches.
Suryakumar Yadav, who joined the squad on the last match day against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after becoming the father of a daughter. He didn’t have the best performance in that game either, getting out for a golden duck and being dismissed by former India teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as his run of low scores continued.
Suryakumar Yadav has scored 195 runs in 11 innings at an average of 17.73. Fans and management are not happy with his performance. There may be a chance when Hardik comes in, considering the form he is going through after T20 World Cup 2026, Sky may also be dropped from the team.
Hardik Pandya is out of PBKS match
Hardik Pandya has still not recovered from the back spasms he suffered before the LSG game. MI players and support staff landed in the city on Monday afternoon, but the captain was not present.
Pandya’s absence from the traveling group could mean that the all-rounder will have a prolonged absence; However, there is still time for the MI captain to join the team as the match is on May 14.
MI need to finish the season well
Hardik has also not fired with either bat or ball. He has scored 146 runs in 8 matches at an average of around 20 and the strike rate has also dropped to 136.44. And with the ball he has taken four wickets at an average of 61.50 and an economy of 11.90. There have been rumors of Pandya leaving the franchise after this IPL.
The performance of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 has been very poor. In 11 matches, they have won only three matches and lost eight. After qualifying for the playoffs last season, they have failed to maintain their best performance this season with the loss of some key players, such as Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Verma. Except that PBKS MI has to play against KKR and RR on May 24.
Also read: “Congratulations to both our bowlers.”: Shubman Gill happy with Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj after win over SRH
