The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, Rajasthan Royals' (RR) pacer Tushar Deshpande said that the standards are set high by star bowler Jasprit Bumrah. He also said his aim is to keep honing skills. "The standards are very high, and that's motivating. For me, it's about improving step by step - working on my skills, staying fit, and understanding my game better. I just want to keep getting better and make the most of every opportunity I get," he said. He was retained by the Royals for the 2026 season, following his performance with them in the previous season. The Maharashtra-born cricketer also feels Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ravindra Jadeja can make a big impact, and the team's focus is to support each other. "We have a very balanced and talented squad. There are quite a few players who can make a big impact, like Vaibhav and even with Jaddu coming back. As a group, we're focused on supporting each other and performing together," said Deshpande. He signed off by saying that there is fresh energy in the group and he is excited to contribute to the team. "I'm really looking forward to this season. Last year didn't go as we expected, but that's part of the game. There's a fresh energy in the group this time, and I'm excited to contribute in whatever role the team requires," the pacer concluded. RR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati. IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Full Squads Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar. Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 09:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Aakash Chopra revealed the possible reasons why Shreyas Iyer does not get credit as a captain. Earlier, in the 2024 edition, Iyer helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to clinch the title, but did not get enough credit for the job. The former cricketer explained that the Mumbai-born cricketer was with a team in which even the coach was a popular personality, and Iyer's contribution as a captain got diluted. "I think his contribution as a leader got diluted a bit in the narrative that's often set by people who are not a part of the team. Two things happened at KKR with Shreyas Iyer. He was in a setup where the coach was also a very strong and popular personality. That wasn't the case with MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma, or even Virat Kohli at RCB, where there wasn't such a dominant figure outside calling the shots," said Chopra. He then said that MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli have led Team India, and Iyer has not yet led the national team. "Here, you had Gautam Gambhir, a very successful player and a very good mentor. The others, MS, Rohit and Kohli, have been India Captains for a significant period and very successful ones. Credit is already given to them on a platter. In Shreyas' case, he is not an India captain. But he is now getting his due, because he is doing so well," said the former cricketer. Shreyas will now lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2026. PBKS will begin their campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings: Full Squad Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Ben Dwarshuis. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 08:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will miss the services of all-rounder Sam Curran due to an injury. Following the Englishman's absence ahead of the tournament, head coach Kumar Sangakkara expressed disappointment. "We are disappointed to lose a player of Sam's calibre so close to the start of the season," he said. The franchise then named Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka as the replacement for Curran. On the Sri Lankan's inclusion to the squad, the head coach said that he is a quality all-rounder and helps maintain the balance of the side. "Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side," said Sangakkara. The first match of the marquee tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. RR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati. IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Full Squads Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar. Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 07:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the season, Delhi Capitals' (DC) skipper Axar Patel spoke about star batsman KL Rahul's role in the team. He explained that in the previous edition, the team consisted of the likes of two overseas players, who were playing at the top order, following which Rahul was pushed in the middle order. "Last year, he was playing in the middle order because of our team combination. The players we had there were two foreign players, who could play in the top order, and, if you make foreign players play in the middle order, then teams use spin more," he said. Ahead of the IPL 2026, the skipper said that Rahul will play an opening batsman, considering that he has scored a lot of runs at the position. "So, because of this, we used KL Rahul in the middle order last year. He has always been good, in the opening slot, he has made a lot of runs. And if you get a good start in T20 cricket, then it becomes easier for the ones at the back. So, I think till now, we will keep him as an opener," said Rahul. DC will begin the IPL 2026 campaign by playing their first match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow. IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals: Full Squads Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmar Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Moshin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi. Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 06:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, Delhi Capitals' (DC) captain Axar Patel said that he doesn't like the 'Impact Player' rule. He explained that earlier teams used to pick an all-rounder to do the job, but since the inception of the rule, the management looks to pick a particular batsman or bowler. "I don't like this rule as I am all rounder myself (laughs). Earlier we used to pick all-rounder for this role (batting and bowling). Now team management goes with a particular batter or bowler, they say why do we need an all-rounder?," he said. "Being an all-rounder myself I don't like it but at the same time rules are rules. We have to follow them. But personally I don't like it," he added. In the previous edition, the Gujarat-born cricketer bowled only 204 balls compared to the earlier season, in which he bowled 264 balls. The cricketer then revealed that he sustained a cut in his spinning finger, following which he didn't bowl much. "I did not bowl a lot. It wasn't because of Impact Player. After the Champions Trophy, my spinning finger got cut. After that it got worse because of the seam of the ball. Later, it developed into a deep cut, I was not able to apply pressure and rotation on the ball. That is why I was bowling only when required and nursing my finger. After seven games, it became better and I bowled frequently," explained Patel. DC will begin the IPL 2026 campaign by playing their first match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow. IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals: Full Squads Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmar Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Moshin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi. Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari. (With PTI Inputs)
23 March,2026 05:35 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the cash-rich league, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that Nitish Kumar Reddy could play the role of a "glue" for Sunrisers Hyderabad's aggressive batting approach. "If he performs his role well, I think he can act as the glue in this unit, which is otherwise very ultra-aggressive. It will be interesting to see how Hyderabad counters this challenge," he said. The former cricketer then said that Nitish's run tally and strike rate have dropped. He also said that the Andhra Pradesh-born cricketer was not able to capitalise on the chances he received. "We saw that his numbers dropped compared to the previous year. In 2024, he scored more than 300 runs and had a good strike rate. But what happened last year? His runs almost halved to around 180, and his strike rate dropped to about 119. It is not like he was batting too low either. In about 7 out of 11 innings, he got opportunities around number four. So, he was unable to capitalize on those chances," said Pathan. The first match of the marquee tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 04:44 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin feels that it will be a big season for Mumbai Indians' (MI) stalwart Rohit Sharma. He also said that the right-handed batsman is physically in good shape and appears to be fit "I personally think this is going to be a season where Rohit will really take it on. He does not need to play cricket for the whole season. He is getting enough breaks. His mind is fresh. He is physically in a good space. He looks really fit. And I think this could well be a season where Rohit Sharma is going to bring back his T20 batting in the IPL," he said. The former cricketer also said that the IPL 2026 could be a season for Rohit to restore the IPL batsman in him. "Let us not forget, Rohit Sharma, the IPL batsman, has not been quite present in the last few years. But this could be a great opportunity for him to really restore that. And I, personally, think he can go on to enjoy his season and do some incredible things for Mumbai Indians this season," said Ashwin. Mumbai Indians (MI) will kick off their season from March 29 by playing a clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (With ANI Inputs)
23 March,2026 04:27 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentDespite having signed contracts, a number of foreign players have withdrawn to play in the more lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), making the PCB's hosting of the expanded Pakistan Super League a logistical and contractual nightmare.A source claims that, in addition to individuals breaking their contracts, the PCB is also dealing with last-minute requests from some players to increase their fees because of the ongoing turmoil in West Asia."The PCB is right now totally focused on hosting the PSL on schedule and has not decided on any course of action against overseas players who have pulled out for so-called personal reasons or have openly breached their PSL contracts to go to the IPL," the source said.There have been internal talks of banning players who have withdrawn from PSL for two to four years, but there are still worries that such harsh penalties would discourage elite foreign talent from joining PSL teams in the future.The source admitted that there is still a significant financial gap between PSL and IPL. PSL teams are finding it difficult to match the much larger contracts offered by the IPL, which is dealing with an injury crisis of its own.The PCB had taken legal action last year against South Africa's Corbin Bosch for a contract breach, handing him a one-year ban. Several International players withdrew from the PSL Gudakesh Motie and Johnson Charles of the West Indians, Dasun Shanaka of Sri Lanka, Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe, Spencer Johnson and Jake Fraser-McGurk of Australia, Ottneil Baartman of South Africa, Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan, and Tymal Mills of England are among the foreign players who have withdrawn from this year's PSL after signing contracts.A number of foreign players have arrived in Lahore for the PSL, including South African Tabraiz Shamshi, New Zealand's Mark Chapman and Devon Convoy, and former Australians Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.The PCB declared on Sunday that the PSL matches would be played without spectators due to the turmoil in the area and the government's promised austerity and revenue-saving measures.The board also cancelled the opening ceremony and restricted the event to just two venues, Lahore and Karachi.(With PTI Input)
23 March,2026 03:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin gave his blunt opinion when asked about Arjun Tendulkar's chances of playing for LSG. Ashwin was previewing the IPL season and admitted that he does not see Arjun starting games for Lucknow Super Giants.Arjun joined MI in 2021 and played five games for the franchise before leaving after a five-year tenure. The all-rounder has joined the Rishabh Pant-led LSG team in a trade agreement from MI before the start of the season.Although Arjun joined LSG for more game time, Ashwin claimed that it would take something extraordinary for him to start matches for LSG."Arjun Tendulkar khelega hi nahi (Arjun Tendulkar won’t play at all), and let’s not even go there. I think it is very difficult because there are Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, and Mohammad Shami in this lineup. There are so many fast bowlers. How will he play? I don’t think he makes any case unless and until there are a lot of injuries,” said Ashwin in an interaction on his YouTube channel.Ahead of IPL 2026, LSG strengthened their speed attack after battling with an injury crisis among their fast bowling squad the previous season. In addition to Arjun, they acquired seasoned Indian pacer Mohammed Shami from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) through a trade. In the meantime, they bought Anrich Nortje at auction. Mayank Yadav played just two games last season, and Mohsin Khan missed the whole season due to an injury. But this time, both are fit. Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, and Akash Singh are further pace-bowling alternatives for LSGLSG will kickstart their campaign on 1st April against the Delhi Capitals in a clash at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The Rishabh Pant-led side will hope for a maiden triumph during the 2026 season. Lucknow Super Giants 2026 Squad: Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Josh Inglis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mohsin Khan, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arjun Tendulkar, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Arshin Kulkarni, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Naman Tiwari, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh.
23 March,2026 12:31 PM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniFormer Indian star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has picked his Mumbai Indians playing XI for the IPL 2026. The former CSK man made a few surprising decisions while picking the team for the 5-time champions. The Mumbai Indians have one of the strongest squads in the IPL. The Hardik Pandya-led side have abundance of options both from local and international players. While picking the best team for the season opener, Ashwin sprung a surprise by dropping Kiwi pacer Trent Boult and opting instead for Afghan spinner Allah Ghazanfar."The reason I am playing Ghazanfar is because, in this line-up, I am leaving Trent Boult. Deepak Chahar can take the new ball because Boult is not there. I need Ghazanfar for the new ball. MI should take advantage of the form of Rutherford and Jacks. So, if I am playing these two, I have to leave out Trent Boult." Ashwin said.Ashwin added that he would use Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Ghazanfar in the powerplay and play both Rutherford and Jacks in the starting XI. If the bowling combinations don't work, Ashwin would slot Santner in the team"Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah - I will use these three and get out of the powerplay. If I have to bowl against a left-hander, I can also bowl Will Jacks. If I play Mitchell Santner, I don't get that new ball specialist. If this combination is not working for me, then I will bring Mitchell Santner back." Ashwin added. Ashwin backs Tilak Varma to have a big season While picking the best batsman and bowler from MI, Ashwin picked Tilak Varma to have a big season. The southpaw is in fine form, having won the T20 World Cup with India and has the ability to win the match on his own. Meanwhile, for the best bowler role, Ashwin went with the obvious choice of Jasprit Bumrah."According to me, this time the best batsman for Mumbai is going to be Tilak Varma. And we have predicted the best bowler. We can't even think of anyone but Jasprit Bumrah," Ashwin said during a discussion on his YouTube show Ash ki baat.
23 March,2026 12:02 PM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniMumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has admitted that his ultimate goal is to win the IPL title with the Mumbai Indians. The all-rounder returned to the franchise in 2024 after two years away but has since failed to lift MI to past glories.Last season, MI reached the playoffs but were beaten by the Punjab Kings in the qualifier. MI will start as favourites to win the title, given their experience in the team and abundance of overseas talent.Speaking before the start of the IPL, Hardik Pandya admitted that his goal is to win the IPL with the Mumbai Indians. The skipper wants to bring a winning culture to the team and build on the impressive legacy of the five-time champions."The ultimate dream is to win the IPL for the sixth time for the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians already has such an amazing legacy, but I think I still remember when I came as a new boy, the passion, the hard work, the whole team supported me, I want that culture to be there where people come out, work hard, play the best kind of cricket. I really want us to represent the best cricket that the Mumbai Indians have ever played." Hardik Pandya said.Like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya is a product of Mumbai's amazing scouting system, which has continuously found young talent and developed them into world-beaters who go on to rule international cricket.Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard was full of praise about Pandya as well, stating his hard work is what separates him from others. Pollard recalled Hardik's initial years at MI as a young star and said that Pandya had the same work ethic that he has now."The bravery and youthful exuberance these players bring are remarkable. I think it all started when this individual (pointing at Pandya) came into our setup - larger than life, but someone who works incredibly hard and delivers on the field. That's what the next generation is seeing," Pollard said. Mumbai Indians 2026 Squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Quinton de Kock, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Corbin Bosch, AM Ghazanfar, Raj Angad Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Raghu Sharma, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat.
23 March,2026 11:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniADVERTISEMENT
-1774258469120_d.png "PSL (Pic: X)")
-1774249062635_d.png "Ravi Ashwin and Arjun Tendulkar (Pic: Youtube and X/LSG)")
-1774247287582_d.png "Ravi Ashwin and Trent Boult (Pic: X and MI)")
-1774243782489_d.png "Hardik Pandya (Pic: PTI)")