The 69th game of the ongoing IPL (Indian Premier League) 2026 sees Mumbai Indians hosting Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The two sides meet on May 24, and while MI have already been eliminated from the tournament, Rajasthan Royals are still in the running, and a win would see them reach the playoffs of the tournament.
With the clash kicking off, Mumbai Indians revealed that they are taking on Rajasthan Royals without the services of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. With the two sides taking on each other, MI skipper Hardik Pandya came forward and revealed that Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the game, and Shardul Thakur replaced Bumrah in the playing XI.
“The pitch looks hard and it should get better once the sun goes down. It’s been a tough season for us, but we want to finish on a high. Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) is resting and Deepak Chahar is in. (Hardik mentioned it as Deepak Chahar, but it's actually Shardul Thakur who has replaced Bumrah, Chahar remains in the starting XI like last game),” Hardik Pandya said at the toss.
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Rajasthan Royals aim to secure playoffs qualification
Speaking of Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural champions are battling it out for a spot in the playoffs. It is worth noting that with Punjab Kings defeating Lucknow Super Giants in the 68th game of the tournament, the 2025 finalists have reached fourth place in the standings and have 15 points to their name.
Rajasthan will have to win the game against MI if they want to qualify, as a loss would mean elimination from the group stage of the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma
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