NEW DELHI: A major IPL 2026 showdown is on the cards for Sunday, with Mumbai Indians set to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a high-voltage encounter at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. However, the match also brings a significant blow to the Mumbai camp, with their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya ruled out of the blockbuster fixture.
Pandya is also coming off an absence from Mumbai’s previous outing against Lucknow Super Giants, where he missed the game due to a back spasm. With him unavailable again, Suryakumar Yadav captained the team in the match versus LSG and is expected to continue in the same leadership role against RCB.
During the pre-match press conference ahead of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash, Mumbai Indians provided an update on their all-rounder. “Hardik continues to be assessed by the medical team, and they will let us know about his progress. The other change is Surya’s inclusion tomorrow (against RCB),” the franchise said.
