Rohit Sharma is recovering well from his injury, but his availability for the match against CSK on May 2 is still uncertain. The Mumbai Indians need to win all remaining games to stay in playoff contention.
Key points
Rohit Sharma is recovering from an injury.
MI coach Mahela Jayawardene did not confirm Rohit's return.
Mumbai Indians have won only two of eight matches.
MI is currently ninth on the IPL table.
MI must win all remaining games to keep playoff hopes alive.
On the eve of one of the biggest games in Mumbai Indians' season, against Chennai Super Kings, head coach Mahela Jayawardene kept the fans in the dark on Rohit Sharma's fitness.
Jayawardene confirmed that Rohit had been to the nets in Chennai on Friday, a positive sign after he sat out four consecutive matches due to a hamstring problem. But beyond that, he offered no guarantees.
Q&A
Is Rohit Sharma playing against CSK on May 2, 2026?
Rohit Sharma's participation against CSK on May 2 is uncertain as he is recovering from an injury.
What did MI coach Mahela Jayawardene say about Rohit Sharma's injury?
Mahela Jayawardene mentioned that Rohit Sharma is recovering well but did not confirm his return for the match against CSK.
How many matches has Mumbai Indians won in IPL 2026?
Mumbai Indians have won only two out of eight matches in IPL 2026.
What do the Mumbai Indians need to do to keep their playoff hopes alive?
The Mumbai Indians must win all their remaining six matches to maintain their chances of reaching the playoffs.
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“It’s progressed well. He’s like working really hard to get back at it. So for us with the medical team, it’s on a daily basis. We see how he feels, how he pulls up the next day. So we’ll make a decision. We’ll see him practising today as well. So let’s see how he feels tomorrow and what the medical team will tell us,” Jayawardene told reporters.
The timing of the injury could hardly have been worse. Rohit had been a standout in Mumbai's opening win of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders, when he scored a rapid 78 off just 38 balls.
However, a hamstring complaint in the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, sustained while batting on 19, ruled him out shortly after.
He turned 39 on Thursday, and the sight of him batting in the nets gave the fans at least something to hold on to.
Jayawardene defends Mumbai Indians' heavy rotation
The injury to Rohit has been just one thread in a broader unravelling. In their search for the right combination, Mumbai have already turned to 22 different players across the first half of the season.
However, the chopping and changing have brought little in return. Yet, Jayawardene defended the policy.
“It’s not the time for us to experiment,” Jayawardene said. “We’ve had issues with our injuries, and availability of players and all that. We’ve already played, I think, 20 players in the season. So we’ve not done that for many years. Our maximum has been 16, even with the impact where we’ve had 16 or 17 was our maximum."
"So due to those circumstances, we’ve anyway have gone to the bench, deeper into the bench. And these are quality players as well, especially our foreigners have been good quality options. So we kept on changing combinations to suit that as well. But for us, it’s about trusting that process of correcting and playing good cricket."
The Cricket News Opinion: Mumbai need Rohit back against CSK
Rohit Sharma walking back out at Chepauk would be a lift, there is no question of that. But if Mumbai's problems this season were only about his absence, the fix would be straightforward. The reality is deeper: inconsistency has been the constant companion all campaign long.
Whether Rohit plays or not on Saturday, the bigger task is getting a full team, not just one player, to click at the same time. That has not happened yet, and with six games left, time is running out fast.
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