Two significant absentees from Mumbai Indians’ lineup for tonight’s game against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium have generated plenty of discussion before the toss.
Hardik Pandya is missing from the XI and Suryakumar Yadav is leading the side in his absence. Trent Boult is also out with Corbin Bosch coming in as his replacement.
Both changes were confirmed at the toss. On the positive side Rohit Sharma is back and Josh Inglis makes his IPL debut having arrived in Mumbai just a couple of days ago following his wedding. Here is the full picture on both absences.
MI vs LSG: Why Hardik Pandya is not playing
Suryakumar Yadav was straightforward at the toss about why he was leading the side. “He’s not well tonight so just going into his shoes. But yeah the rest everything is fine.” Hardik is unwell and has been ruled out of tonight’s game as a precaution.
He is not part of the twelve-man squad for tonight which effectively confirms the illness is significant enough that there is no possibility of him featuring even as an Impact Player.
It is a further blow for an MI campaign that has been defined by injury and unavailability with Rohit missing three games earlier in the season and Santner already ruled out for the tournament. Suryakumar takes the captaincy in Hardik’s absence and has led the side before so the transition is a familiar one.
MI vs LSG: Why Trent Boult is not playing
Suryakumar confirmed at the toss that Corbin Bosch comes in for Trent Boult without specifying a reason for the change. Boult has had a difficult IPL 2026 season with just one wicket across his appearances and the decision to replace him with Bosch appears to be a combination of form and the desire to give the South African all-rounder his opportunity in what are increasingly must-win games for MI.
Bosch provides both pace and batting depth which is valuable for a side that is not batting deep with their current lineup. Whether Boult returns for subsequent games will depend on how Bosch performs tonight and whether MI’s management decide the bowling attack needs a different balance heading into the final five games of the league stage.
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MI vs LSG: The broader MI picture and what tonight means
Suryakumar was candid about where MI find themselves. “Mumbai Indians is not known to be in such positions. But at the end of the day you have to put your chin up play the game for why you love it and put your hands up. We have five games left. Try and win as many as possible. Show character enjoy the game and give some shows to the crowd.”
Rohit Sharma’s return is the significant positive news tonight after he missed three games with a hamstring injury. Josh Inglis makes his debut having just arrived from his wedding and received his cap from Mitchell Marsh.
MI won the toss and chose to field first with Suryakumar noting the humidity and the advantage the second innings has offered at the Wankhede in recent games. LSG meanwhile bring in Josh Inglis as the debut and Matt Raghuvanshi also comes in with Mukul Choudhary making way.
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