🏏 MI vs KKR 2026: No Suryakumar in XI as Hardik Pandya Chooses to Bowl 🔥
❗ Big Update: No Suryakumar Yadav in Playing XI
- 🌟 Suryakumar Yadav is not included in the starting XI
- 🔁 Likely to play later as an Impact Player
- 🤔 Strategic decision considering pitch & team balance
🎯 Why MI Chose to Bowl First
Hardik Pandya explained that the pitch looked greener than usual, influencing the decision:
“Looks like a good track, a bit greener than usual… this is our fortress and we’re confident.”
- 🌱 Extra grass = help for fast bowlers early on
- 💪 MI going with 6 batters + 5 bowlers
- 🏟️ Home advantage at Wankhede
🧾 Playing XIs
🔵 Mumbai Indians XI
- Rohit Sharma
- Ryan Rickelton (wk)
- Tilak Varma
- Hardik Pandya (c)
- Sherfane Rutherford
- Naman Dhir
- Shardul Thakur
- Mayank Markande
- AM Ghazanfar
- Trent Boult
- Jasprit Bumrah
👉 🆕 Debuts: AM Ghazanfar & Sherfane Rutherford
🟣 Kolkata Knight Riders XI
- Finn Allen
- Ajinkya Rahane (c)
- Cameron Green
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk)
- Rinku Singh
- Ramandeep Singh
- Anukul Roy
- Sunil Narine
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Vaibhav Arora
- Blessing Muzarabani
🗣️ Rahane’s Reaction
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane admitted he also wanted to bowl:
“Never seen this much grass at Wankhede… we were looking to bowl first
