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Mumbai Indians have a bit of both the good and bad news in the lead-up to their high-octane Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to be played on May 10 in Raipur.

Suryakumar Yadav is available for the crucial contest, but captain Hardik Pandya's availability is still doubtful owing to injury concerns. The match at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium will be a do-or-die situation for Mumbai Indians who are close to exiting the tournament completely without making it to the playoff stages.

The five-time champions have won just three of their first 10 matches and are currently ninth in the IPL 2026 points table and even a clean sweep of the remaining matches won't be enough to seal a playoff berth unless the other results go in their favour as well.

MI captain, Hardik Pandya missed their previous match against Lucknow Super Giants owing to back spasm and Suryakumar Yadav, who replaced him as the leader, inspired the side to a commanding six-wicket victory against Rishabh Pant's team.

The skipper, Pandya, has since linked up with the MI camp in Raipur but his availability against RCB remains under the cloud. The decision over whether the captain would be available to play will likely be made by the medical staff and is dependant on his recovery and fitness levels.

The all-rounder, who has had a dismal IPL 2026 so far, having scored 146 runs from eight matches and has four wickets under his belt during the season. MI would hope to have their captain available for this encounter since a loss in this fixture would all but spell doom for them in the tournament.

Also Read | IPL 2026: How Can KKR Still Qualify for fhe Playoffs After Their Win Against DC?

Meanwhile, concerns also hovered over the availability of Suryakumar Yadav, after it came to light that the star batter had recently become a father and could skip the next fixture citing personal reasons.

But in a report by Cricbuzz, it is learnt that the middle-order batter has now expressed availability for the RCB clash, and would soon be in Raipur. In absence of Hardik Pandya again, Suryakumar Yadav is once again slated to captain Mumbai Indians.

In common with his Mumbai Indians counterpart Hardik, Suryakumar has not enjoyed a consistent run so far this season, having scored only 195 runs in 10 games at an average of 19.50 including a half-century.

As the Mumbai Indians battle to stay alive in IPL 2026, the availability of these two senior stars may become crucial in the outcome of the RCB fixture.