Hardik Pandya missed his second consecutive match for Mumbai Indians on Saturday as he remained unavailable for the IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Raipur. This is the third time this season that the MI captain has missed match action.

Pandya had already missed Mumbai’s previous clash There continue to be fitness concerns around the all-rounder, who suffered back spasms against Lucknow Super Giants. After the toss, Mumbai confirmed that their captain has still not been cleared by the medical team.

IPLRCB vs MI: Update | Achievement:

Explaining the captain’s absence, MI said, “Hardik has not been cleared by the medical team to take the field.”

With Pandya unavailable again, Suryakumar Yadav stepped up to lead the team after joining the team following the birth of his daughter earlier this week.

Interestingly, when the Mumbai team initially traveled to Raipur, neither Hardik nor Suryakumar were with the group. Whereas Suryakumar stayed there due to family commitmentsPandya was still recovering after suffering from back spasms during MI’s recent phase of matches.

Hardik eventually joined the team on May 7 in Raipur, but the franchise decided not to risk him again against RCB.

The MI captain was last seen during Mumbai’s clash against Chennai Super Kings before missing the win over LSG and has now missed the RCB match as well.

Why is Hardik Pandya out of IPL action?

Pandya’s current absence This is related to the back spasm I suffered earlier this week.

The injury is understood to be a minor one, but Mumbai’s medical staff has advised rest given the busy schedule and the importance of managing his workload properly.

Although Hardik traveled to Raipur and was around the team, he still did not get full clearance in time for the RCB match.

This is now the third time in IPL 2026 that Pandya has not played a match for Mumbai, adding to a disappointing season for the franchise captain, both individually and collectively.

Mumbai have struggled badly for consistency this year and Hardik’s fitness problems towards the end of the tournament have compounded those problems.

Can MI qualify for IPL 2026 playoffs?

Mumbai Indians are currently placed ninth in the IPL 2026 points table with only six points from 10 matches.

With only four league matches left before the clash with RCB, MI’s playoff equation had already become extremely difficult.

The five-time champions now effectively need to win every remaining match and hope results elsewhere also go in their favor to keep their playoff hopes alive.

While Mumbai managed to defeat Lucknow Super Giants in their last match under the captaincy of Suryakumar, the margin for error is almost nil at this stage of the season.

A defeat against RCB will take them even closer to elimination.

RCB vs MI: Playing XI

Playing XI of Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dheer, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Verma, Will Jacques, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar.

Effect Sub: Trent Boult, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Shardul Thakur

RCB Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethel, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyyash Sharma, Rasikh Salaam Dar

Effect Sub: Devdutt Padikkal, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Swapnil Singh, Venkatesh Iyer

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