MI vs KKR: While Mumbai Indians hope to break their opening game IPL curse on Sunday, the five-time champions have been handed two huge blows as a couple of their overseas players have opted out.
The Hardik Pandya-led MI will begin their IPL 2026 campaign on March 29, Sunday evening, when they host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai Indians are infamous for being slow starters in the IPL. MI are currently on a 13-game first-match losing streak, having last won their first game of the season back in 2012. Overall, MI have claimed only four wins out of their 18 season openers.
This year, they start as the favorite against KKR, but their squad has been dented by the absence of two key overseas players.
MI vs KKR: Why are Mitchell Santner and Will Jacks not available for Mumbai Indians’ match today?
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and England’s Will Jacks are unavailable for Mumbai Indians’ match against KKR because both of them had asked for an extended break, head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed on the eve of the fixture in Mumbai.
“Mitch and Jacksy both asked for a slightly extended time for personal reasons. And we were quite happy to go with that. But they’ll join the team pretty soon,” Jayawardene said.
“I’m not sure [when they will join] but pretty soon. It’s just that we don’t want to divulge what is not fair for either party. But being honest, we feel that it’s fine with us with who we have got.”
Both players had had a busy international season.
Santner led the Kiwis in a spate of white-ball matches over the last few months, a period that included him being injured and missing the ODIs against India. Between the T20 World Cup final and the IPL, Santner was involved in a three-T20I series against South Africa at home.
As for Jacks, the England all-rounder had quite a winter. In the Ashes, he played a much bigger role than perhaps anyone would have expected him to, and then at the T20 World Cup, his bits-and-pieces efforts with both bat and ball helped him to four Man of the Match awards.
MI, though, are not short of quality overseas options. Apart from Santner and Jacks, MI’s foreign contingent includes Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Sherfane Rutherford, AM Ghazanfar, Corbin Bosch, and Trent Boult.
Mumbai’s four overseas players in the MI vs KKR clash are likely to be de Kock/Rickelton, Boult, Rutherford, and Ghazanfar.
MI vs KKR: Will Jasprit Bumrah play today against KKR?
Bumrah is fit and is available to play against KKR, coach Jayawardene confirmed on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the fast bowler had made a visit to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to work on strength and conditioning.
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