Hardik Pandya trains for over three hours but set to miss Punjab Kings fixture in Dharamsala

New Delhi: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya resumed full-throttle training and spent over three hours at the Reliance Corporate Park on Tuesday. Hardik missed the side's two matches against Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 due to a back spasm and is unlikely to link-up with the squad for the fixture against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Thursday.

While MI continue to maintain that he is recovering from a back spasm, the intense training session — of which he uploaded a couple of videos on social media — definitely raises eyebrows. Is there more than what meets the eye? TimesofIndia.com reported that all hasn't been well in the dressing room and Hardik's absence from action does raise some pertinent questions.

The five-time IPL champions reached Dharamsala from Chandigarh on Tuesday afternoon, but neither Hardik nor stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav travelled with this batch. Suryakumar was very recently blessed with a baby girl and is understood to have left for Mumbai, along with Hardik and a few other players, right after the match in Raipur on Sunday. The rest of the squad moved to Chandigarh, and then continued their journey to Dharamsala.

It remains to be seen when Suryakumar will join the squad, as he linked up on the day of the match against the RCB. The franchise is hopeful of having him back with them closer to the contest against the PBKS.

Mumbai Indians are in the middle of a forgettable season, languishing in the ninth spot on the points table. The remaining matches present them an opportunity to not only test their bench but also rest some of their superstars who have had underwhelming performances.

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Suryakumar and Tilak Varma, apart from one hundred and one half-century, have had ordinary outings with the bat and Bumrah deserves rest after fighting a lonely battle this edition. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene continues to back his "core players," it seems time has come to test faces who can consistently serve the franchise in upcoming editions.