Why was Hardik Pandya not in LSG match? Ryan Rickelton reveals on the absence of Mumbai Indians captain

IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants to get a much-needed win in IPL 2026. Thanks to a stellar partnership between Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma, MI chased down LSG’s target of 228 runs with eight balls to spare. Hardik Pandya did not take part in the match, and in his absence Suryakumar Yadav played the match.

Why did Hardik Pandya not play in LSG game?

This victory has breathed life into Mumbai’s IPL 2026 campaign. All eyes are on Hardik’s captaincy, and now his fitness has become a matter of concern. After missing one match earlier in the season, this was Hardik’s second game in IPL 2026 in which he did not play. Now it is learned that the MI captain had back spasms.

After the game, Ryan Rickelton revealed that he had learned about Harden’s injury before the game.

“I don’t know when he will be back. I found out this afternoon that he has back spasms. I don’t know how serious or how bad the injury is. I don’t know how he is feeling, but I am sure he will be with us again when we go to Raipur this week.”

Mumbai Indians beat Lucknow Super Giants

Talking about the match, LSG scored 228 runs on the board with the help of a brilliant half-century from Nicholas Pooran and two brilliant innings from Mitchell Marsh and Himmat Singh. But Mumbai had other plans. The brilliant Rohit Sharma faced the Lucknow bowlers and completed his 49th IPL fifty. He scored a tremendous 84 runs with 6 fours and 7 sixes, while Rickelton also gave strong momentum to Mumbai by scoring 83 runs in 32 balls.