Hardik Pandya fitness update: Mumbai Indians captain set to return in IPL 2026 clash vs....

Mumbai Indians (MI) have received some relief after their crushing six-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals in their previous IPL 2026 clash, as their captain Hardik Pandya is doing well. Hardik Pandya is likely to return to action soon after missing the match against the Delhi Capitals.

The Mumbai Indians captain had been down with a viral infection for a few days, which kept him away from training and eventually forced him to miss the IPL 2026 league match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday, April 4.

Hardik Pandya’s viral illness

Hardik Pandya left everyone shocked and concerned after Suryakumar Yadav was sent for the toss in Delhi. India’s T20I captain Suryakumar handled the captaincy duties and revealed that Hardik was feeling unwell.

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This was not a great sign, as the MI skipper had already skipped two training sessions before this match against the Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium due to the virus. This sparked worry among the MI fans, thinking the illness was serious.

But a fresh Times of India report suggested that Hardik was rested for the DC vs MI game only as a precautionary measure, and he should be ready to face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on April 7.

Hardik Pandya set to return after viral scare

The Mumbai Indians team management didn’t want to take any risk with their main all-rounder so early in the tournament. They felt it was wiser to let Pandya rest than push him into a demanding afternoon match while recovering, and that too in the hot and tough conditions.

After being away from the field for the last few days, the star all-rounder’s recovery has brought a huge sigh of relief inside the MI camp. The report claimed that Hardik travelled with the Mumbai Indians squad to Guwahati after losing the match to Delhi Capitals in Delhi, and he is expected to start training again when they begin preparations for the RR match.

Sameer Rizvi destroys Mumbai in Delhi

Meanwhile, the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians made a winning start of their IPL 2026 campaign by crushing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. But without Pandya, the five-time champions fell flat against the Delhi Capitals in Delhi.

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Sameer Rizvi produced another stunning display in the ongoing IPL 2026 as Delhi Capitals chased down 163 with six wickets and 11 balls to spare against the Mumbai Indians. The 22-year-old smashed a blistering 90 off 51 balls, hitting seven fours and seven huge sixes.

DC had a slow start on a slightly sluggish pitch, but Pathum Nissanka (44) provided early fire before Rizvi completely shifted the match. His explosive hitting in the 11th over against Corbin Bosch, where he cracked two fours and two towering sixes for 20 runs, ended MI’s hopes.

Rizvi, who had smashed an unbeaten 70 against Lucknow Super Giants, proved he is DC’s new match-winner. Earlier, DC bowlers restricted MI to 162/6 with the stand-in captain Suryakumar scoring 51 while Rohit Sharma made 35, but the rest of the batting unit struggled in Delhi.