Eighth match ahead IPL 2026 between Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was dismissed moments before the toss.
DC vs MI: Why is Hardik Pandya not playing today’s IPL match?
The toss took place at 15:00 IST, Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and picked the trophy first. When asked about Hardik Pandya’s absence, team captain Suryakumar Yadav gave a simple explanation.
“He’s not fine. He’s just stepping into his shoes today.” Suryakumar said during the shooting. The statement confirmed that Pandya’s absence was due to sudden illness rather than any injury or tactical move. The nature of the illness was not disclosed, but the team management decided to rest their all-rounder as a precaution.
Three changes in Mumbai Indians’ 11th over
With Pandya unavailable, MI were forced to make three changes in their lineup. Suryakumar announced the amendments: “Deepak Chahar comes in. Bosh comes in for Boult. Santner comes in for Ghazanfar.”
Deepak Chahar – The experienced Indian seamer returns to bolster the pace attack.
Corbin Bosch – The South African all-rounder replaces Trent Boult, who was named among the batting replacements.
Mitchell Santner – New Zealand left arm spinner comes in for Afghan mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar.
The list of effective substitutes for MI includes Mayank Markande, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult and Ashwani Kumar, meaning Boult could come into the game as a substitute later on.
Axar Patel’s tactical move: Bowl first at home
DC captain Axar Patel, who was leading his team in the first home game of the season, did not hesitate to bowl first after winning the toss. He explained his decision as follows: “I want to see how the goalkeeper behaves in the first match at home. He looks a little dry, a little stiff. We chased well in the last match.”
Akhar referred to DC’s thrilling last-ball win in their previous outing, where they chased down a target despite being reduced to 26/4 in the power play. “Chasing the target from 26/4 on the power play gives the group a lot of confidence. Even the top guys know they can step up if the lower order shots fail,” he added.
Delhi Capitals fielded an unchanged side from their last match with impressive replacements including Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi Dar, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera and Karun Nair.
