Quinton de Kock will not be part of Mumbai Indians’ match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai. Hardik Pandya, speaking before the start of the game, confirmed that Ryan Rickelton will come into the playing XI in de Kock’s place for the contest at the Wankhede Stadium.
Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first under conditions he described as favourable—breezy and a touch chilly—with no expectation of dew becoming a deciding factor. He also addressed the reason behind the late reshuffle in the Mumbai top order, saying de Kock had taken a hit on his wrist during practice.
“We’re going to bat first,” Pandya said during the toss. “Looks like a good, breezy day… slightly cold compared to generally. I don’t think dew will be a factor. We’re just going to bat and see how much we can score.” He added that de Kock’s absence followed a wrist injury picked up in training, while noting that the change affects the team’s plans. “Mitchell (Santner) was unfortunate, and so was Quinny today. He just did something to his wrist. We have a couple of changes… Ryan comes in place of Quinny.”
De Kock’s unavailability is a notable blow for Mumbai at the top, given the wicketkeeper-batter’s experience and his ability to set the tone early. The injury, sustained during the nets, forced Mumbai to make a last-minute call ahead of the match.
Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (w), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora (w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga.
Impact Substitutes
Mumbai Indians: Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Krish Bhagat, Raj Bawa.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Smaran Ravichandran, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel.
