Hardik Pandya to miss MI’s must-win clash against RCB?:Skipper missed last match with back spasm; hasn’t travelled to Raipur

Hardik Pandya was nowhere to be found when the Mumbai Indians jetted off for Raipur ahead of their must-win game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Having sat out of their last match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, due to back spams. Suryakumar Yadav was chosen as the stand-in captain, he revealed during toss that Hardik missed the match due to a back issue. However, the designated captain and star all-rounder was missing again as his teammates flew to Raipur to face the defending champions. Will Hardik Pandya miss the RCB clash? With Hardik himself not going through a good patch of performances, doubts remain about the availability of the Mumbai Indians captain for their next match. The five-time IPL winners haven’t had the best season, and every match is a must-win game for them. Pandya looked fine when playing against Chennai Super Kings on 2 May, however, Surya stepped out for toss and revealed that Hardik was sidelined with a back spasm. Ryan Rickelton, speaking after Mumbai’s win against LSG said that Pandya should join the team when they head to Raipur. Hardik’s slump in IPL 2026 The season hasn’t been the best for Hardik on a personal note. The skipper bowled two overs against CSK, and scored 18 off 23 deliveries. He has also managed 146 runs in eight games at an average strike rate of 136.45, while he has 4 wickets to his name with the ball. However, he was not at the airport, and as per Cricbuzz, there were no indications that he would join the remaining team directly in Raipur. Perhaps the back issue is more serious than expected, and MI don’t want to risk their captain, but there was no official update from MI before the match. As a captain, Hardik has managed to win only 37.83% games with Mumbai Indians, he could only win 14 from 37 games in 3 seasons, losing 23 matches ahead of the RCB clash. For now, the Mumbai Indians are languishing in ninth place, with three wins from 10 games. Mathematically, they can still reach 14 points, but that may not be enough to qualify for the playoffs, since 5 teams already have 12 points, while Punjab have 13 before their meeting with SRH later in the day.