Mumbai Indians have provided a fresh update on captain Hardik Pandya and vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav ahead of their must-win clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on May 10, Sunday.
Initially, neither player travelled with the squad for the fixture. Pandya, who missed the previous win over Lucknow Super Giants due to a back spasm, was absent when the team assembled at Terminal 1. Meanwhile, regular stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav remained back to welcome his newborn daughter with his wife. Hardik joined the team in Raipur on May 7, Thursday.
“Hardik continues to be evaluated by the medical team, and they will update us on his progress,” a Mumbai Indians spokesperson said ahead of the RCB match. “Surya is coming in tomorrow.”
IS MI ALREADY OUT?
The match against RCB is a must-win encounter, and the absence of both leaders could have opened the door for former captain Rohit Sharma to step in and lead the side, which is currently second-last on the points table. However, with Suryakumar expected to join the squad before the game, he is likely to lead the team if Hardik remains unavailable due to injury.
“Individually, as players, it’s important to control what we can control. We have no control over selection, so we just try to keep our minds in the right place, keep working, stay consistent, keep turning up, do what’s best for you, and leave selection to the end,” Sherfane Rutherford told reporters during the press conference.
Mumbai Indians currently sit ninth on the table with six points and still have an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs, with only four matches remaining.
“We have to win every game. We know what’s ahead of us and what we need to do to get into the top four or give ourselves the best chance, so we just have to win the next four games. It’s as simple as that,” Rutherford added.
The stakes remain extremely high, with Mumbai Indians needing to win all their remaining matches and rely on other results to go their way in order to stay in playoff contention.
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