IPL 2026: Ryan Rickelton Shares Update On MI Captain Hardik Pandya’s Injury

Hyderabad: The Mumbai Indians have been going through a torrid form this season and are placed at the penultimate position in the points table with just three wins from 10 matches. The team suffered a significant blow ahead of the match against Lucknow Super Giants as their skipper, Hardik Pandya, missed the game due to a back spasm.

In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav handled the leadership duties, marking the second instance in the season when Pandya has missed a game. MI didn’t give full clarity, and that raised questions around his availability in the upcoming fixtures.

However, speaking after the game, MI opener Ryan Rickelton said that even the players were not aware of the severity of the issue.

“I don’t know when he’s expected to be back. I found out this afternoon that he had back spasms, so I’m unaware of the extent of it. I don’t want to call it an injury; I’m unaware of how bad it is or what he’s feeling. But I’m sure he’ll be with the group again as we head to Raipur this week,” Rickelton said.

There is no fixed timeline for Pandya’s return as of now.

MI win despite Pandya’s injury

This is the second instance when Pandya had to sit out on the bench due to an injury after missing the Delhi Capitals’ game earlier in the tournament.

LSG posted 228 for 5 while batting first, driven by Nicholas Pooran’s 63 off 21 and Mitchell Marsh’s 44. However, MI completed the chase with ease. Ryan Rickelton (83 off 32) and Rohit Sharma (84 off 44) took the game away from LSG early in the innings. The team completed 229 with eight deliveries to spare. Manimaran Siddharth picked two wickets while Mohammed Shami and Mohsin Khan took one wicket each.

MI broke their losing streak with the triumph, but the chances of them heading into the playoffs look slim with only four more matches to go.