Revealed: Why captain Hardik Pandya isn't featuring in MI vs LSG IPL 2026 clash

MI won the toss and chose to bowl, and when SKY was asked about Pandya's absence, he revealed that the all-rounder is not keeping well. 

Also Read: Former MI star reveals Hardik's biggest weakness in IPL 2026, says 'Overton exposed a weakness in Pandya'

Hardik Pandya absent from MI's XI

Surya revealed that Hardik Pandya is not well for tonight's game and will be missing out on this clash, and he also assured MI fans that everything else is fine. 

"He's (Hardik) not well tonight, so just going into his shoes. But yeah, the rest, everything is fine."

SKY also revealed that Rohit Sharma, under whom MI won five IPL titles, is finally back in the XI and will be playing his fifth game of the season. 

"There's definitely, Cobin Bosch comes in for Trent Boult and also our very own Rohit Sharma is back."

"We will look to bowl first. (Any particular reason?) Nothing, it looks good. It's a little humid also tonight. There's no wind. In the second innings, we saw what happened here in the last 2-3 games. So it became a little better. So just want to take advantage and give it to the bowlers."

"You can't run away from the fact, to be very honest, Mumbai Indians is not known to be in such positions. But at the end of the day, it's just a game, part of the game, you have to put your chin up, play the game for why you love it, and put your hands up. Have that pride and enjoy the game. (Clearly no margin for errors anymore, right?) Can't say it can make us dangerous, but definitely we can try and put our best foot forward. We have five games left. Try and win as many as possible. Show character, enjoy the game, and give some shows to the crowd," Surya Kumar Yadav concluded.

Mumbai has had a forgettable season so far, and the team is at the cusp of elimination from IPL 2026, they have only won two games so far and are at ninth spot in the points table.