IPL 2026: Why is Hardik Pandya not playing today in DC vs MI clash?

Before their second game of the IPL 2026, the joint successful IPL record-holder, five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians suffered a major blow. For their first away match of the season, against the hosts Delhi Capitals, their captain Hardik Pandya isn't available. 

It is the eighth game of the IPL 2026, where Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians are taking on each other at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday afternoon (April 4). It is the first afternoon match as well as the first match in Delhi in the IPL 2026. 

While it was already in the news that the MI skipper Hardik Pandya won't feature in the game, it was confirmed during the toss, as the stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav came at the toss to represent the five-time champions. Home captain Axar Patel won the toss and chose to field first. 

See Also: BCCI to give new role to Hardik Pandya for India ahead of ODI World Cup 2027

Reason for Hardik Pandya missing DC vs MI game in IPL 2026

At the toss, MI stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav claimed that the regular skipper Hardik Pandya wasn't well as he didn't look good. According to reports, the right-handed aggressive middle-order batter and the right-arm pacer Hardik wasn't present in the recent practice sessions, which set the rumour for his unavailability for the DC vs MI match. 

After the toss, Mumbai Indians have officially released a statement, which claimed, "Hardik is unwell and hence will not be taking the field today. Suryakumar Yadav will be the captain today."

After their first match of the season, where MI beat KKR by six wickets, skipper Hardik Pandya drove his Ferrari. Later, he didn't travel with the MI team to Delhi, as the all-rounder separately landed in Delhi with his girlfriend Mahieka. 

Skipper Hardik had important role in their IPL 2026 opener victory

Mumbai Indians finally broke their long-term season opener losing jinx this season after beating three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While KKR scored 220/4 in 20 overs, MI chased down the target in 19.1 overs after losing four wickets. Skipper Hardik played some effective roles in that successful game. 

With the ball in hand, Hardik had the bowling figures of 3-0-39-1, as he dismissed the set batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored 51 off 29 balls. Earlier, he also took the catch of the KKR opener and skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 67 runs off 40 balls. With the bat, Hardik scored 18 not out off 11 balls with three fours to seal a win.