IPL 2026: Why is Hardik Pandya not playing in DC vs MI match today?

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya is ruled out from their IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium today, with Suryakumar Yadav stepping in to lead the side. The change was confirmed at the toss when Suryakumar walked out instead of the regular skipper.  Explaining Pandya’s absence, Suryakumar revealed that the all-rounder was unwell and not fit enough to take the field. He mentioned that Pandya’s condition didn’t look good, which led to the decision to rest him for this fixture, with Suryakumar taking charge of the team in his place.  Due to his leadership duties, Suryakumar did not feature as an Impact Player in this match, unlike the previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, where he had played in that role.

 

 

 

At the toss, Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel opted to bowl first and retained the same playing XI from their previous outing. Mumbai Indians, however, made several adjustments to their lineup. Deepak Chahar was brought in as a replacement for Pandya, while Corbin Bosch came into the side in place of Trent Boult. Additionally, Mitchell Santner returned to the XI, replacing Allah Ghazanfar.

 

Suryakumar also shared that he was comfortable with either approach in the game but personally didn’t mind batting first, which was his initial preference for this afternoon encounter.  SKY after the toss: (News on Hardik) He's not well, doesn't look good, so he was not fit for today's game. So just getting into his shoes today. (On the win against KKR) If you win the first game after 13-14 years, there's a lot of positivity in the camp, and we're very happy, but completely different venue here from Wankhede. We have to take good responsibility and have a good game here. (On the surface) Looks good, The toss was irrelevant. We wanted to bat first, they wanted to bowl first, but yeah, very happy to bat first. Looks good one. We've done here really well when we've batted first and defended. Quite a few changes. Deepak Chahar comes in for Hardik. Corbin Bosch comes in for Boulty, that's a tactical change. Boulty had a good game in the last game at Wankhede. And Mitch Santner comes in for Allah Ghazanfar.    MI playing 11 vs DC: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah