Dharamshala, May 14 (IANS) Ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is set to captain the Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday, with both regular captain Hardik Pandya and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav unavailable.

An IPL source told IANS that the franchise has given the leadership armband to Bumrah, who has been with MI in the IPL since 2013. This is the first time Bumrah will captain MI in the IPL. Bumrah’s past leadership experience has come via leading India in two 2024/25 Border‑Gavaskar Trophy Tests in Australia and in the rescheduled Birmingham Test against England in 2022.

“Hardik and Suryakumar aren’t featuring in the game in Dharamshala due to varied reasons. Hardik is still recuperating from back spasms, though he did practice at the Reliance Corporate Park.

“Suryakumar, meanwhile, is with his family, especially with his daughter Riddhima, born just a week ago, and MI have been extremely understanding in this regard. Subsequently, the franchise set-up decided that Bumrah would take up the leadership role for this game against PBKS,” further said the source.

Bumrah is experiencing a challenging IPL 2026 for MI, picking only 3 wickets in 11 matches, including going wicketless in eight matches, with an economy rate of 8.5. Both MI and PBKS had to cut short their practice sessions on Wednesday night due to inclement weather.

Despite that, the match is expected to go ahead without any weather disruption. The last time these two teams met, PBKS chased down a target of 196 with 21 deliveries to spare at the Wankhede Stadium last month. MI are already out of contention for the playoffs, while PBKS need a victory to end their four-game losing streak in the ten-team competition.

–IANS

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