IPL 2026 controversy: What’s behind Mumbai Indians’ Ankolekar injury and Krish Bhagat signing? Know the complete story

The Mumbai Indians (MI) have been really poor in both the batting and bowling departments of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as they find themselves in ninth position on the points table with three victories at a net run rate of -0.649. Recently, they got the better of the Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium to end their three-match losing streak.

The Hardik Pandya-led side has also been associated with a fresh controversy in the campaign, as they had to fake the injury of a young bowler to sign another player, who has a strong political background, as the news went viral on a social media.

How Atharva Ankolekar’s sudden injury led to a mid-season replacement

It was March when the MI all-rounder, Atharva Ankolekar, got injured before the start of the IPL 2026. He was bought for a price of INR 30 lakh and went through a successful knee surgery that kept him away from the game till April 16, after which the franchise announced a replacement in the form of Krish Bhagat.

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While at that time, the move seemed fair, it appeared that Ankolekar has currently participated in the Thane Premier League. The issue was raised by the fans. If the bowler had been fit, then why was he released by the side? The video on Instagram showed the pacer bowling in full flow to end with 3/30 and scoring 56 runs off 47 balls.

The all-rounder, who played for the Union Cricket Academy, got injured during the Ranji Trophy encounter against Hyderabad in January. He will be available to be part of the Mumbai T20 League, where he was bagged by the Eagle Thane Strikers for INR 16.25 lakh in the auction.

Why Krish Bhagat’s inclusion has raised questions among fans

Many have reckoned that the decision could be influenced by the strong political background of the Krish Bhagat, whose father, Ashwani, runs Ceela International, which is a major sports goods company. He is the nephew of Punjab minister Mohinder Bhagat.

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Moreover, Krish is the grandson of the former BJP minister, Bhagat Chunni Lal, and was a net bowler previously for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but didn’t break into the playing eleven. He developed his skills through structured training and represented Punjab across the U14, U16, U19, and U23 levels and the Ranji Trophy.

The 21-year-old has not done anything in this league and has given away 63 runs in three innings at an economy rate of 10.50 without any success.

Mumbai’s next encounter will be against RCB on May 10 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur.

Timeline of events that sparked controversy around Mumbai Indians camp

The timeline events mentioned earlier have sparked the controversy. The bowler missed the IPL 2026 till the middle of April before the franchise announced the replacement. Bhagat joined the event and soon made his debut for the five-time champions and played in encounters, but he has yet to pick up a single wicket. 

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Meanwhile, just a couple of weeks later, Ankolekar was seen to be featuring for the franchise in the Thane Premier League when he contributed with both bat and ball in hand. 

What rules say about injury replacements in IPL 2026

For the IPL 2026, teams can sign the injury replacements for players ruled out of the season, with the deadline extended to the 12th league game. They must be selected from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), who were unsold in the auction, and cannot exceed the injured player's salary.

These replaced players can't exceed the injured player's salary as a BCCI-nominated doctor must approve the medical unfitness. Once a player is officially replaced due to injury, they can't return to play for the franchise in that same season.