Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: Sunday is set to witness a mega clash in IPL 2026 between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but the match comes with a major setback for Mumbai Indians. Star player Hardik Pandya will miss the high-profile match scheduled to be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.Pandya also missed Mumbai Indians’ previous match against Lucknow Super Giants due to a back spasm.
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In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav captained the team against LSG and will continue to captain the team against RCB as well.“The medical team is continuing to evaluate Hardik and after that they will update us on his progress. The second thing is for Suriya to come tomorrow (against RCB),” Mumbai Indians announced during the pre-match press conference ahead of the encounter against RCB.
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RCB, who are set to play their first two matches at the new stadium, head into the competition after suffering a nine-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants. The loss was their second consecutive defeat in the tournament. Despite successive setbacks, RCB currently sits third in the points table due to their superior net run rate. However, any further defeat could put their top-four position under serious pressure, especially with so many teams close behind in the standings.
Meanwhile, five-time defending champions Mumbai Indians enter the match with renewed confidence after registering their third win of the season. MI defeated Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in a high-scoring encounter in their previous outing.The Mumbai Indians team currently occupies ninth place in the table with six points from 10 matches, and faces a must-win situation. Another defeat could make them the first team to be eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoff race.Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Tim David, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Raseekh Dhar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jordan Cox, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Layer, Swapnil Singh, Jacob Duffy, Kanishk. Chauhan, Abhinandan Singh, Mangesh Yadav, Phil Salt, Satvik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra.Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Means, Ryan Rickleton (wk), Shreejith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Willjack, Keshav Maharaj, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Pothore, Corbin Bush, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Benmitsa, Mujibur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.