“MI vs KKR: Rohit and Suryakumar Switch Gears as Impact Substitutes”

MI vs KKR: Suryakumar Yadav Named Impact Sub, Rohit Sharma in Playing XI

India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav has been named among Mumbai Indians’ Impact Subs, while former captain Rohit Sharma takes his place in the playing XI for their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders. Last season, Rohit had featured as an Impact Substitute in multiple games.

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl. With Suryakumar not in the starting XI, he is expected to make an impact during the chase.

Mumbai handed debuts to Afghanistan spinner AM Ghazanfar, along with Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford. Ryan Rickelton was preferred over Quinton de Kock following his 388-run haul in 14 innings last season. Trent Boult completes the four-overseas-player quota.

The bowling attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, supported by Boult and Shardul, with Mayank Markande and Ghazanfar as spin options.

Hardik Pandya on the pitch: “Looks like a good track, looks a bit greener than usual. This is our fortress, our ground, and we hope to entertain the crowd. We’ve had a couple of weeks to prepare, so the boys are ready.”

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane added, “I’ve never seen so much grass at Wankhede.”

KKR include three overseas debutants: Finn Allen opens, with Cameron Green and Blessing Muzarabani also in the XI. Sunil Narine is the fourth overseas player, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi keeps wickets. Kartik Tyagi is listed among the Impact Player options.

Mumbai Indians have historically dominated KKR, winning 24 of 35 matches. At Wankhede Stadium, MI leads 10-2, though KKR has taken the last two encounters since 2024, leading the recent head-to-head 2-1.

Playing XIs

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Impact Subs: Suryakumar Yadav, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar

Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Blessing Muzarabani
Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Dubey, Rovman Powell