Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma missed Mumbai Indians’ crucial IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The former Mumbai Indians captain, who has led the franchise to five IPL titles, was rested after suffering a hamstring injury in the previous match.There was considerable speculation around Rohit’s availability, with Mumbai Indians assessing his fitness until the last moment. However, the team decided not to take any risks and opted to rest him.Quinton de Kock replaced Rohit at the top of the order, opening alongside Ryan Rickelton.Mumbai Indians slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, losing the match by seven wickets to Punjab Kings.Providing an update on Rohit, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene addressed the situation after the match.“He (Rohit) started running yesterday, [we’ll take] day to day to see how he feels. He knows his body better than anybody else so it’s nothing serious but at the same time we don’t want to push and it’s early season still,” Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference.Jayawardene also emphasised that the team’s struggles cannot be blamed on one individual and are a collective responsibility.Mumbai Indians began their IPL 2026 campaign with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, but have since suffered defeats against Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and now Punjab Kings.“I think it’s on every one of us when we are not doing well. It’s not an individual. It’s pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that to see how can we be better,” he said.“I know we are playing good cricket. We are not taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, clinical; obviously the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start so we just need to control phases that we can control. So I think it’s not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt that will give us that confidence,” the MI head coach added.With this result, Punjab Kings moved to the top of the points table with four wins and one no-result, overtaking defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, slipped to ninth place with just one win from five matches.
