Rohit Sharma (Image Credit: Mumbai Indians)
New Delhi: The two last-placed teams – Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants – will face off in the IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. With their playoff hopes on hold, both sides are desperate to turn things around and shift into full gear.Mumbai Indians, currently ranked ninth, have managed just two wins from nine matches. They go into the match on the back of three straight defeats, including a massive eight-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings.LSG, which is in last place, also achieved two victories, but in eight matches. They are suffering five straight defeats, the latest of which was a Super Over defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders.Mumbai’s season has been affected by inconsistent performances from key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya, whose captaincy has also come under scrutiny.
Rohit Sharma’s absence due to a hamstring injury further weakened the team, leaving them little margin for error. Mumbai would do well to want Rohit back at the top of the order, but how ready he is for this crucial clash remains uncertain.
Will Rohit Sharma play against Lucknow Super Giants today?
Mumbai Indians did not give any official update on Rohit’s return. The former captain, who led the team to five ISL titles (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020), has not played since suffering a hamstring injury nearly three weeks ago during a match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Rohit retired due to his injuries at the age of 19 in that match and has since missed matches against Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.However, Rohit was seen hitting the nets before the encounter with LSG in a video shared by Mumbai Indiansthe difference: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, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujibur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (C&W), Aiden Markram, Himat Singh, Matthew Bretzke, Mukul Choudhury, Akshat Rajwanshi, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arsheen Kulkarni, Wannendu Hasaranga, Aayush Badoni, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan