{"id":4719,"date":"2026-04-23T14:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-chooses-to-bowl-as-mi-face-csk-without-rohit-dhoni"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:24:15","slug":"hardik-pandya-chooses-to-bowl-as-mi-face-csk-without-rohit-dhoni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-chooses-to-bowl-as-mi-face-csk-without-rohit-dhoni","title":{"rendered":"Hardik Pandya Chooses to Bowl as MI Face CSK Without Rohit, Dhoni"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl as Mumbai Indians took on Chennai Super Kings in the first \u201cEl Clasico\u201d matchup of IPL 2026. The decision meant MI went with the same combination that delivered a win over Gujarat Titans three days earlier, keeping Rohit Sharma on the injury list. CSK, meanwhile, made a single confirmed tweak to their lineup, but not the one fans were hoping for\u2014MS Dhoni was again unavailable. It is also the first time in this rivalry\u2019s history that neither Rohit nor Dhoni features in the same MI vs CSK contest.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to field first against Chennai in IPL 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Rohit Sharma remains sidelined, with MI retaining the XI that beat Gujarat Titans three days earlier.<\/li>\n<li>CSK\u2019s change does not involve MS Dhoni, who stays out of the match.<\/li>\n<li>This is the first MI vs CSK game where both Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are absent.<\/li>\n<li>Ruturaj Gaikwad\u2019s captaincy has brought four defeats in six games, with his batting form under pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Captains choose to bowl and discuss the pitch<\/h2>\n<p>Both skippers went in wanting to bowl first in this meeting between the five-time champions. Ruturaj Gaikwad explained that Prashant Veer had been brought in in place of Matt Short. However, the listed team sheet still showed Kartik Sharma in the playing XI rather than Veer, adding a layer of confusion ahead of the first delivery.<\/p>\n<p>Hardik, after the toss, described the surface as looking green but playing well\u2014language that suggested movement could be on offer while still allowing batters to settle once they find timing.<\/p>\n<h2>Form, pressure and injury concerns<\/h2>\n<p>With both sides sitting near the lower end of the points table, their brand of cricket has come under scrutiny. For CSK, Gaikwad has faced additional pressure as his runs have dried up, and his leadership has coincided with four losses from his last six matches.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries have also shaped both teams\u2019 recent planning. Gaikwad has had to absorb setbacks from multiple key absences, including Mumbai-born batter Ayush Mhatre and new-ball bowler Khaleel Ahmed, both ruled out due to injury.<\/p>\n<h2>Playing XIs and impact player options<\/h2>\n<p><b>MI XI<\/b>: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Naman Dhir, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Krish Bhagat, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Ashwani Kumar<\/p>\n<p><b>Impact Player options<\/b>: Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Shardul Thakur, Danish Malewar, Mayank Rawat<\/p>\n<p><b>CSK XI<\/b>: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Sarfaraz Khan, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Kartik Sharma, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Anshul Kamboj, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Gurjapneet Singh, 11 Mukesh Choudhary<\/p>\n<p><b>Impact Player options<\/b>: Prashant Veer, Matt Short, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Urvil Patel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl as Mumbai Indians took on Chennai Super Kings in the first \u201cEl Clasico\u201d matchup of IPL&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026 MI vs CSK: Hardik Chooses to Bowl, Rohit Out","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026 MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya opts to bowl after winning the toss, with Rohit still out and Dhoni unavailable again\u2014full team news inside.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IPL 2026 MI vs CSK: Hardik Chooses to Bowl, Rohit Out<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"IPL 2026 MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya opts to bowl after winning the toss, with Rohit 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