Hardik Pandya Set to Return for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 Clash Against Rajasthan Royals
Mumbai Indians (MI) will have their skipper, Hardik Pandya, back in action for the upcoming IPL 2026 game against Rajasthan Royals. The match is scheduled to take place at ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday. This news comes as a relief for MI fans, who had been concerned about Pandya’s availability after he missed the previous game against Delhi Capitals due to illness.
Pandya was absent from the match held at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which MI lost by six wickets. However, he made a return to the MI nets in Guwahati on Sunday night, where he was seen bowling and batting in good form. His presence in the nets indicates that he is now fit and ready to play.
Paras Mhambrey, MI’s bowling coach, confirmed Pandya’s availability during a pre-match press conference. He explained that Pandya had not suffered any injury but had been unwell, which led to his absence in the last game.
“He will be available. He had a good couple of hours of net sessions yesterday, so he is fit and fine. He wasn’t injured, he was unwell, that’s the reason he missed the game,” said Mhambrey.
The absence of Pandya in the last match forced MI to make some changes to their team combination. South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch came in for Trent Boult, while Deepak Chahar was also included in the side. Mhambrey highlighted that these adjustments were purely tactical, as the team needed someone to fill the role of an all-rounder in Pandya’s absence.
“Well, I think that is something that you will have to take care of. Injuries are something that you can’t control. But I think we got the team, we got enough guys out there to mix and match, and looking at the surface combinations, but I think we got enough guys to kind of look around. I think it was just a combination change. Obviously, Hardik gives you the option of a bat and a bowler – the all-rounder. Since he wasn’t available, we needed a kind of replacement who could fill in that role for us. It is purely a tactical decision that we went with,” added Mhambrey.
This will be MI’s first IPL game in Guwahati, and one of the key battles to watch is how Rajasthan Royals’ batters—Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel—will cope with MI’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Mhambrey praised Bumrah’s unique ability to outthink batters and create unexpected situations during matches.
“Classic example was the England game. The first ball he bowled – no one could have expected a slower one. So I think the ability to anticipate what the batters are thinking and to be able to present a kind of an option that, as a batter, you are not expecting. I think that’s his USP – I would say that,” he concluded.
With Pandya set to return, MI will be looking to regain their momentum and secure a strong performance against Rajasthan Royals. Fans are eagerly awaiting the match, hoping to see the team bounce back with a win.
