IPL 2026: Five-time champions Mumbai Indians are all set to kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, March 29, 2026.
Although MI boast a strong and well-balanced squad on paper, but they have suffered a major setback ahead of the season opener as key overseas all-rounders Mitchell Santner and Will Jacks are yet to join the team for the season.
Mitchell Santner-Will Jacks to miss IPL 2026 opener
New Zealand’s star left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who also plays crucial role as lower-order batsman, along with Will Jacks – the dynamic middle-order hitter and occasional off-spinner, will miss MI’s IPL 2026 season opener against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ahead of the match, head coach Mahela Jayawardene provided the crucial updates on the expected arrival of Santner and Jacks to the Mumbai Indians squad for the tournament.
“Mitch and Jacksy both asked for a slightly extended time for personal reasons. And we were quite happy to go with that. But they’ll join the team pretty soon. I’m not sure [when they will join] but pretty soon. It’s just that we don’t want to divulge what is not fair for either party. But being honest, we feel that it’s fine with us with who we have got,” Jayawardene was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Jasprit Bumrah set to feature in IPL 2026 opener
However, MI received major boost as Jasprit Bumrah rejoined the squad and is set to feature in their IPL 2026 opener as per head coach Mahela Jayawardene. After missing Friday’s training, Bumrah was back on the field on Saturday, a day before the clash.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) enter the 2026 IPL season with high hopes and revamped squad. The 2024 champions have bolstered their lineup with hard-hitting overseas recruits from the mini-auction, all set to debut in the iconic Purple and Gold jersey this Sunday.
On paper, KKR’s batting lineup appears among the strongest in IPL 2026, but their bowling faces challenges with multiple injuries and administrative hurdles. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have been ruled out for the season, and Matheesa Pathirana is still awaiting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket.
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Rider match no.2 predicted playing XI
MI’s predicted playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock(wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Sherfane Rutherford, Hardik Pandya(C), Naman Dhir, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Corbin Bosch
Impact Player: Shardul Thakur
Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane(C), Finn Allen/Tim Seifert, Angkrish Raghuvanhshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Blessing Muzarabani, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Impact player: Umran Malik
