New Delhi: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya Dropped a major clue about his whereabouts through his latest Instagram story, where the star all-rounder was seen training at the Reliance facility in Mumbai, amid doubts over his availability for MI’s next IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Thursday.The all-rounder, who missed Mumbai Indians’ previous game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru due to a back injury, shared pictures of himself practicing, suggesting that he is slowly working his way back to fitness.
However, despite resuming training, Hardik did not travel to Dharamsala on Tuesday with the initial batch of MI players, according to a report by Crackbuzz.His absence from the traveling squad has once again put his participation in doubt ahead of Wednesday’s match. MI’s support staff are reportedly monitoring his condition before deciding whether he will join the squad later.
Hardik Pandya’s Instagram Story
Head Coach of Mumbai Indians Mahila Jayawardene It was earlier confirmed that Hardik is battling a back problem and is undergoing treatment.“Hardik had a back problem which we were trying to fix, but it’s not resolved yet. The medical guys are working on it. He couldn’t train for the last few days, so we didn’t want to take any risk,” Jayawardene had said after MI’s loss to RCB.“We’ll see. It’s on a day-to-day basis. See how he feels. And then we’ll decide on that,” he added.With MI already out of the IPL 2026 playoff race, the franchise is unlikely to send back its captain without a full fitness clearance. Still, Hardik’s latest training update has raised hopes among fans, and it remains to be seen whether he joins the squad ahead of the Punjab Kings clash.
