Summary of this article
Mumbai Indians have not named Suryakumar Yadav in the playing XI against KKR
Suryakumar Yadav is placed in the Impact Sub list
The move is said to have been taken to manage Suryakumar Yadav's workload
Mumbai Indians have opted to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in match 2 of the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Just after a toss, big news dropped as Suryakumar Yadav's name was not included in the playing sheet, but was there in the Impact Player one with the likes of Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz and Ashwani Kumar.
While it came as a surprise to many, given his impressive fielding credentials and the experience as captain of the Indian T20 team, it was understood that the move was taken as a precautionary measure to manage his recent workload. He is most likely to come out to bat in the second innings.
Both the teams will be starting their IPL campaign in a high intensity clash today. While Mumbai Indians finished 4th last year after losing to Punjab Kings in the eliminators, Kolkata had a subdued season, finishing at the 8th spot.
MI Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Pitch Report
While the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium is usually a batting paradise, the current one looks on the greener side with more grass than usual, which prompted MI to choosing to bowl first.
While MI have a strong pace bowling attack in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, KKR are relying on their spin bowling duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. Their pace bowling attack looks relatively inexperienced consisting of Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy and Blessing Muzarabani.
MI Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
