&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: Hardik Pandya rejoins Mumbai Indians camp in Raipur before crucial clash against RCB")
Mumbai Indians skipper and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has rejoined the squad in Raipur ahead of their crucial IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru after missing the previous game due to back spasms. The franchise shared the update on Instagram through a post featuring their captain. In MI’s last IPL 2026 fixture against Lucknow Super Giants, Suryakumar Yadav led the side in Hardik’s absence.
Following Mumbai’s commanding victory over LSG, wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton spoke about Hardik’s condition during the post-match media interaction and said that he had only become aware of the issue earlier in the day and did not have clarity on how serious it might be. He also expressed confidence that the MI skipper would rejoin the squad for the Raipur match.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians are scheduled to hold a complete practice session at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, where Hardik is likely to participate in net training with the rest of the squad on Friday (May 8).
Defending champions RCB will take on the five-time title winners in a high-profile clash on Sunday evening. MI currently sit ninth on the IPL points table with just three wins and seven losses, leaving them in a must-win situation for the remainder of the league stage to stay in contention for the playoffs.
On the other hand, Bengaluru slipped to third place after suffering their fourth defeat of the season against LSG on Thursday (May 7) in Lucknow.
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