Why Isn’t Suryakumar Yadav Playing In Today’s PBKS vs MI IPL 2026 Clash?

Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav was unavailable for the IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Thursday, May 14. Leading the side for the first time, Jasprit Bumrah revealed that Suryakumar missed the game due to personal reasons.

Meanwhile, regular captain Hardik Pandya remained sidelined with a back injury. Speaking at the toss, Bumrah said (via Cricbuzz):

“Surya is not here for personal reasons.”

For those unaware, Suryakumar Yadav and his wife Devisha recently welcomed a baby girl. Despite the big personal milestone, he had captained Mumbai Indians in their previous outing against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In his absence, Sherfane Rutherford has been drafted into Mumbai’s playing XI.

However, Suryakumar’s absence may not significantly impact Mumbai, considering his underwhelming campaign so far. The right-hander has scored only 195 runs from 11 innings at an average of 17.72, with just one fifty to his name this season. Despite the struggles, the five-time IPL champions retained him for a massive INR 16.35 crore ahead of the 2026 auction.

MI choose to field first against PBKS, make two changes for IPL 2026 clash

Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bowl first against Punjab Kings in their IPL 2026 encounter. Explaining the decision at the toss, Bumrah said (via Cricbuzz):

“We saw the last game a little bit, and we feel that (with) the cold weather coming around, maybe the wicket will settle down a little bit and the ball will come better on the second innings.”

Besides Suryakumar Yadav, Allah Ghazanfar was also unavailable for Mumbai Indians’s clash against Punjab Kings. On the other hand, the Punjab Kings side, led by Shreyas Iyer, made three changes, bringing in Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, and Azmatullah Omarzai to the playing XI.

Having suffered four consecutive defeats, Punjab will be desperate to bounce back and strengthen their chances of securing a top-two finish in the IPL 2026 standings ahead of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Mumbai have already been eliminated from the competition, with just three victories from 11 games this season.

The last meeting between the two sides in IPL 2026 saw Punjab Kings defeat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium.