Three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians had to miss the services of their regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the match against the Kings XI Punjab owing to an injury. In his absence, Windies all-rounder Kieron Pollard is leading the franchise in his absence. Rohit Sharma sustained an injury during the practice session ahead of the match against the Kings XI Punjab.
Before the start of the match against, the Mumbai Indians confirmed Rohit has suffered a right leg muscle spam and he won’t be part of the Playing XI for today’s match just as a precautionary measure. However, the statement by the Mumbai Indians revealed that Rohit has improved significantly in the last 24 hours and it was just a precaution taken by the team management.
“Rohit Sharma suffered a right leg muscle spasm yesterday during training. Rohit has recovered significantly in the past 24 hours. As a precautionary measure, Mumbai Indians management has decided to rest Rohit for one match, i.e. vs KXI,” a statement from Mumbai Indians read.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, It was Siddhesh Lad who was handed his maiden cap for the Mumbai Indians. He has been with the franchise for 5 years but this was the first time he got a chance in the Playing XI. It will surely be a huge moment for Lad who has been with the same franchise for 5 years without a single game.
Meanwhile, it was after a gap of 11 years that Rohit Sharma was missing an IPL game. Meanwhile coming back to Lad, he has been an impressive batsman for Mumbai Indians in the domestic circuit.
Mumbai Indians has started off pretty well in this edition which is generally not the case with this particular franchise. They tend to peak a little later. However, they will be eager to win as many matches as possible in the group stages to finish at the top two positions in the Points table.
There have been a few changes for the Kings XI Punjab as well. Mayank Agarwal who has looked good in the tournament so far had to miss out owing to a finger injury which he sustained in the previous match. In his place, Karun Nair will play after a long time. Meanwhile, Mujeeeb-ur-Rahman has also been replaced with Hardus Viljoen.