Hardik Pandya not travelling with MI squad to Raipur for RCB clash

Hardik Pandya is not travelling with the Mumbai Indians squad to Raipur for their May 10 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. MI players assembled at Terminal 1 of Mumbai airport on Wednesday afternoon, but the skipper was conspicuous by his absence. There is no immediate indication that Pandya will join the team later.

Pandya did not feature in MI's last match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, where Suryakumar Yadav captained in his place. The official reason cited was back spasms. "He's not well tonight, so I'm just stepping into his shoes. But otherwise, everything is fine," Suryakumar explained at the toss.

With the team losing and Pandya not firing with bat or ball, doubts persist about his absence. MI officials stressed there is nothing more to read into it. "Hardik Pandya is unwell with back spasm, hence Suryakumar Yadav is captain for today's game," the franchise stated.

Asked about Pandya, Ryan Rickelton said: "I don't know when he's expected to be back. I only found out this afternoon that he had back spasms. I'm not aware of the extent of it. But I'm sure he'll be back as we head to Raipur."

Pandya looked fine at Chepauk on May 2 when CSK beat MI by eight wickets. He bowled two overs and batted at No. 6, scoring 18 off 23.

His performances reflect the team's poor results. With the bat, he has 146 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 136.45. His bowling has yielded just four wickets in eight matches. Overall, his win percentage as MI captain across 37 matches and three seasons is 37.83, with 14 wins and 23 losses.