Mumbai Indians bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has confirmed that captain Hardik Pandya is fully fit and ready to play in the upcoming match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Tuesday. Pandya had missed the previous game against the Delhi Capitals (DC) due to illness.
With Pandya unavailable in the last match, MI had to make a few changes to their lineup. Corbin Bosch came in as an all-rounder, while Deepak Chahar replaced Trent Boult to adjust the overseas player combination. However, MI struggled with the bat on a slow pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, managing only 162/6. The total was chased down comfortably, with Sameer Rizvi scoring an impressive 90.
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“He will be available. We had a good couple of hours of net sessions yesterday, so he’s fit and fine," Mhambrey said at the pre-match press conference on Monday. “I think that’s something (adjusting team combinations due to injuries) that you’ll have to take. Injuries are something that you can’t control. But I think we got the team, we got enough guys out there to make the mix and match, and looking at the surface and combinations."
Pandya also has a strong record against Rajasthan, having scored 506 runs at an average of 72.29 with a strike rate of 173.29. He has also picked up 12 wickets against them, making him an important player for MI in this contest. Mumbai Indians are currently sixth on the points table tally after winning one match out of two outings.
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Mumbai Indians Squad
Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Santner, Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar