Hardik Pandya To Replace Suryakumar Yadav? MI's Strongest XI vs RCB- IPL 2026, Match 54

Will Hardik Pandya play vs RCB? [Source: AFP]

The Mumbai Indians are once again scheduled to face a formidable Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on May 10 at 7:30 PM, concluding the weekend with a high-octane clash.

So far, MI's campaign has not gone as they would have liked after only managing to win three of the 10 matches played. One of their 7 losses also includes a defeat at the hands of RCB at the Wankhede Stadium, where the visitors defended 240 runs early in the season.

Apart from some important stars having an incredibly poor IPL 2026 for their standards, MI have also been constantly hit with injuries to their starting XI players. Recently, Rohit Sharma returned from his hamstring injury, but Mitchell Santner has already been ruled out, while Hardik Pandya has also missed a couple of matches.

Nonetheless, heading into the match, MI chased their record total at home against the Lucknow Super Giants and are in positive spirits. As they look to stay alive in the competition, here's their predicted XI.

MI Playing XI vs RCB- IPL 2026, Match 54

Top-Order: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma

Rohit Sharma, who returned to the team in the last match, will continue to open the innings alongside Ryan Rickelton after the duo has already stitched two 140+ stands this season. Rickelton is their highest scorer this season with 380 runs in 8 innings at 190.95, while Rohit has 221 runs in 5 innings at 174.01.

Tilak Varma, who returned to number 3 in the last match, is likely to continue batting at his best position again. He has gotten 204 runs in 10 innings this year at a strike rate of 154.54, including a century to his name.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma To Make His TV Debut After IPL 2026

Middle-Order and All-Rounders: Suryakumar Yadav Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch

Days after becoming the father, it was expected that Suryakumar Yadav would miss the clash against the defending champions; however, just a day ahead of the fixture, it is confirmed that he is all set to feature in the match.

Naman Dhir has been given some added responsibility this season, batting higher than usual, and he has scored two fifties in 10 innings. Despite some underwhelming performances, he has 256 runs at 150.58.

Dhir will be followed by Hardik Pandya, who is on the lookout for some runs this season. Pandya has 146 runs at 136.44 in 8 innings and has only picked 4 wickets this season. He has missed a couple of matches due to illness, but will likely replace Suryakumar Yadav as captain.

One of the most in-form players in the world currently, Will Jacks, will be their finisher, having chipped in with 57 runs in 3 innings at a strike rate of 183.87 and a wicket to his name after joining the team late. Corbin Bosch will continue at 8 after his instrumental 2/20 in the win over LSG and can score quick runs in the death overs, if required.

Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar

Deepak Chahar, who only has one wicket at an economy rate of 12.38 runs per over this season, returned to the MI Playing XI vs RCB in the last match and bowled impressive overs at the death, conceding only 9 and 6 runs in the 18th and 20th overs, leading to MI's win. He will keep his spot over the likes of Krish Bhagat.

The two strike bowlers of the lineup will be Jasprit Bumrah and Allah Ghazanfar, slated at 10 and 11. Despite picking only 3 wickets throughout the season, Bumrah has managed to keep the scoring rate in check most of the time, conceding at 8.89 runs per over, which is the best for any MI bowler with 5 or more matches played.

Ghazanfar is currently their highest wicket-taker with 12 scalps in 8 innings, conceding at 9.91 runs per over and can bowl across phases of play, providing crucial breakthroughs.

MI Playing XI vs RCB- Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar.