Summary of this article
Mumbai Indians face Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2026 opener at Wankhede Stadium
Hardik Pandya leads a full-strength MI side, with Jasprit Bumrah and AM Ghazanfar fit and available
KKR are hit by injuries, losing Harshit Rana and Akash Deep for the season, while Matheesha Pathirana is also unavailable
Mumbai Indians (MI) host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Hardik Pandya’s MI will look to end their opening-day losing streak at home against a new-look KKR side.
After disappointing outings in the previous season, both teams will look to stamp their authority during the nascent stages this year. After a run-fest in the opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), fans can expect another high-octane, high-scoring game today.
Let’s take a look at the team news and the predicted playing XIs for both teams for the MI vs KKR, IPL 2026 match.
MI vs KKR, IPL 2026: Team News
Kolkata Knight Riders have a horrible injury crisis before the start of the season. A large chunk of their pace attack has been sidelined with injuries, with Harshit Rana and Akash Deep ruled out for the season. Matheesha Pathirana will also sit out the opening stages with a knock. The enforced removal of Mustafizur Rahman leaves KKR well short of pacers going into the match, meaning Blessing Muzarabani will have to shoulder most of the burden.
Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, will have both Jasprit Bumrah and AM Ghazanfar fit and firing. The hosts have almost their entire roster available, with only Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner yet to join the squad.
MI vs KKR, IPL 2026: Predicted XIs
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar (Impact Player).
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Blessing Muzarabani, Umran Malik (Impact Player).
When is the MI vs KKR IPL 2026 match?
The game takes place on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 7:30 PM IST.
Where is the MI vs KKR match being played?
The fixture will be hosted at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Which players are injured for MI vs KKR?
For Kolkata Knight Riders, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are ruled out for the season, and Matheesha Pathirana is sidelined for the opening stages. For Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah and AM Ghazanfar are fit, but Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner are yet to join the squad.
