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In the IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Mumbai Indians` (MI) stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
MI`s Suryakumar Yadav, who led the team in the absence of regular captain Hardik Pandya, will miss out on the clash due to personal reasons.
After winning the toss, MI`s stand-in captain Bumrah said, “We will bowl first. (Reason for bowling first?) We saw the last game a little bit and we feel that, (with) the cold weather coming around, maybe the wicket will settle down a little bit and the ball will come better on the second innings. (How does it feel to captain MI for the first time?) Yeah, it feels good. I came here as a 19-year-old. I didn`t think that I`ll be a Test captain before I`ll captain Mumbai Indians. But this is a fun place to be. You look after everyone and you want to contribute in whatever way possible. So, I like responsibility. This is a new challenge. I`ll look to have fun”.
“(What do MI want to get out these games?) Actually, I don`t want to park it (leaving the tough season behind) because when cricket gives you good days, you take it. When it gives you challenges, it`s come to teach you something. So, I take it in my stride, try to learn from it and accept it fully because this is the beauty of cricket. (What do you want to take out of these games?) As much as we can, you know, positives that we can and we play good cricket. We`ve got three games left. We want to enjoy. We want to enjoy each other`s company and create an impact and maybe, you know, ruffle a few teams. (Changes to your side?) We`ve got two changes. Surya (SKY) is not here due to personal reasons and Allah (Ghazanfar) is out as well,” he added.
On the other hand, PBKS` skipper Shreyas Iyer said, “We would have bowled first as well. The wicket looks a bit drier. Still don`t know how the pitch will play so just being positive about it. We should stop thinking about what has gone wrong. We have to think about being in good shape and having a positive mindset. Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett and Azmatullah Omarzai come in”.
IPL 2026, Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings: Confirmed Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (WK), Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Raghu Sharma.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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