Mumbai Indians wore black armbands against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026 to honour a support staff member’s daughter, while Rohit Sharma remains unavailable.
IPL 2026: Why are Mumbai Indians wearing black armbands vs SRH? (PC: IANS)
Mumbai Indians players wore black armbands during their Indian Premier League 2026 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, paying tribute after the untimely demise of the daughter of a member of their support staff.
In a statement, the franchise said:
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“Dear All, due to the untimely demise of our support staff’s daughter, Mumbai Indians players will wear black arm bands today, in remembrance and solidarity with the family.”
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On the field, MI won the toss and elected to bat, with skipper Hardik Pandya saying, “We will look to bat well and then see how much we can score. I think it was important for all of us to just reset, not get too complicated but just get a good couple of big evenings and also a good couple of sessions. We just ticked all the boxes, refreshed ourselves, and now we are excited for the game,”
Mumbai made multiple changes, bringing in Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Robin Minz and Trent Boult. Rohit Sharma remained unavailable, with Pandya confirming: “Ro is going to take a couple of more games… it’s not where he would want it to be.”
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, captain Pat Cummins said, “There’s a little bit of tackiness in the wicket… it’s about assessing the conditions.”
With just two wins in seven games, Mumbai enter the clash needing a turnaround, even as they mark a moment of quiet remembrance.
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