Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and chose to field first against Mumbai Indians in Raipur, but the biggest team news came from the two missing names. Hardik Pandya was again absent for MI, with Suryakumar Yadav walking out for the toss and continuing as captain.
For RCB, Phil Salt did not return to the XI despite recently arriving back in India after scans on his finger injury. Both teams named unchanged XIs for the IPL 2026 clash at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, which means MI will bat first without Hardik, while Bengaluru will continue with Jacob Bethell and Jitesh Sharma in Salt’s absence.
RCB vs MI: Why Hardik Pandya is not playing
Hardik Pandya is not playing today’s RCB vs MI match because he has not been cleared by MI’ medical team. MI confirmed before the match: ‘Hardik has not been cleared by the medical team to take the field.’
Hardik had missed Mumbai’s previous game against Lucknow Super Giants due to back spasms, and although he traveled with the squad to Raipur, he has still not recovered enough to play. His absence is a major setback because MI are already in a must-win phase of the tournament.
With Hardik unavailable, Suryakumar Yadav is leading Mumbai Indians again. At the toss, Suryakumar said MI were happy to bat first on a big ground with a black-soil surface, adding that runs on the board could put pressure on RCB.
RCB vs MI: Why Phil Salt is not playing
Phil Salt is not playing for RCB because he has not yet been brought back into the playing XI after his finger injury. Salt had traveled to England for medical scans after injuring his finger while fielding against Delhi Capitals and recently returned to India, but RCB have decided to stick with the same team for this match.
That means Jacob Bethell continues at the top of the order, while Jitesh Sharma remains the wicketkeeper. Salt’s return to India was a positive sign, but his absence from the XI suggests either he has not reached full match readiness yet or RCB did not want to disturb their combination immediately.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar confirmed at the toss that Bengaluru are also going in with the same team despite their recent losses. He said RCB want to stay in the present and focus on their strengths.
Also READ: IPL 2026 playoff scenarios: What the Top 5 teams need from their remaining matches
RCB vs MI: Same XIs for both teams
Mumbai Indians playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar.
RCB playing XI: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar.
So the simple answer is: Hardik Pandya is out because MI’s medical team has not cleared him, while Phil Salt is not playing because RCB have retained the same XI and he is not yet back in match action after his finger injury.
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