Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya trained at full intensity during his team’s practice session here on Monday, signaling his return for the IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.
Pandya, who had missed MI’s last three matches due to a back spasm, was one of the first players to get off the team bus and looked relaxed as he undertook a long session of bowling and batting in the nets.
The all-rounder bowled at full speed and batted fluently, attracting considerable attention during Mumbai Indians’ training ahead of the clash against KKR.
Pandya last played in MI’s away match against Chennai Super Kings on May 2 before being ruled out with the injury.
He did not travel to Dharamshala for MI’s six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, where Jasprit Bumrah became the franchise’s third captain this season after Suryakumar Yadav also missed the game following the birth of his son.
Suryakumar was also seen during MI training.
Pandya had first missed MI’s home match against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4 before missing the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur despite traveling with the team.
Pandya has endured a poor IPL season so far, scoring 146 runs at a strike rate of around 136 and taking just four wickets with an economy rate of around 12.
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Mumbai Indians have had a disastrous campaign so far, with the five-time champions managing just four wins in 12 matches to miss out on playoff contention along with the Lucknow Super Giants.
MI are currently in the bottom two with eight points from 12 matches with two league games left.
In the KKR camp, Indian star Varun Chakravarthy, who played with a hairline fracture in his leg in their last match against the Gujarat Titans, skipped practice along with Matheesha Pathirana.
Posted on May 18, 2026
