Mumbai Indians. Image Credits: AP
In a development update, the Mumbai Indians (MI)'s local Mumbaikar has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) due to a knee injury. The five-time champions have roped in a Punjab-based pacer as a replacement.
Losing three out of four matches in IPL 2026, the MI management is already dealing with a number of injuries in their camp. Recently, former captain Rohit Sharma had to get retire out due to a hamstring injury in the MI vs RCB match last Sunday.
Putting the brakes on their injury problems, the five-time champions have named a replacement for their already injured Atharva Ankolekar. The spinning was ruled out even before the start of the season and will be replaced by a young 21-year-old, Krish Bhagat.
Who is MI's replacement signing Krish Bhagat?
The IPL, in a press release, announced the replacement for the Mumbai Indians, Krish Bhagat.
"Mumbai Indians (MI) have signed Krish Bhagat as a replacement for Atharva Ankolekar, who has been ruled out of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to injury," the release said.
Born in 2004, Krish Bhagat is an upcoming talent from Punjab, who has played 7 First-Class matches and 9 List-A games. Interestingly, the 21-year-old medium pacer has yet to make his T20 debut.
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Bhagat will link up with his Punjab teammates Mayank Markande and Naman Dhir in the MI squad for IPL 2026. Bhagat has joined the Mumbai-based franchise at his base price of INR 30 Lakh.
Bhagat has already played two seasons of the Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup. Moreover, he has been a part of the Punjab Ranji Trophy squad from 2024-25. The right-arm pacer featured in eight games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, where the Abhishek Sharma-led squad bowed out to Saurashtra in the semifinal.
Headaches for MI in IPL 2026
Unlike their nature, the five-time champions kick-started their IPL 2026 campaign with a victory over KKR, but they have since lost. MI have lost to DC, RR and RCB in a row.
In their previous encounter, the Hardik Pandya-led unit fell flat against the defending champions, who posted a mammoth total of 240/4 in Mumbai - the second-highest total of the season.
Although they gave a tough fight courtesy of Sherfane Rutherford’s 31-ball 71, MI were bundled out for 222/5 to lose by 18 runs.
The middle-order batters, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, are getting dismissed in an identical fashion. Meanwhile, MI’s trump card, Jasprit Bumrah, hasn’t picked even a single wicket in four innings. Moreover, there is uncertainty over Rohit Sharma’s availability before the MI vs PBKS match on Thursday.
How can MI turn things around in IPL 2026?
After four matches in IPL 2026, the Mumbai Indians have just two points and are sitting in ninth position. They are scheduled to play three of their next four match on their home ground at the Wankhede Stadium.
They are heading into the no-or-never territory; thus, they would have to take home advantage. Of late, Mumbai has been offering batting paradises, but with little to no assistance to the new-ball bowlers, which is unlikely to be the case at Wankhede.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and the MI team management have to be sharp with tactical calls, especially bowling changes.
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