New Delhi: Mumbai Indians (MI) are likely to miss their two crucial overseas players in the IPL 2026 opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29. Mitchell Santner and Will Jacks are likely to miss the season opener for the Hardik Pandya-led team.
According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Santner, Jacks and pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed the MI’s mandatory training session at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Santner was involved in the five-match T20I series against South Africa. He played the first three matches of the series and rested for the final two. He is expected to join the franchise soon and is likely to miss the first match.
England all-rounder Will Jacks will miss the clash against KKR due to personal reasons. He performed consistently well in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, playing a crucial role in England’s run to the semi-finals, where they lost against India at Wankhede.
𝐊𝐚𝐮𝐧? 𝐊𝐚𝐛? 𝐊𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐚𝐧? 😅
Paltan, our #TATAIPL 2026 fixtures have dropped! 💙 pic.twitter.com/nZrJrQbYTB
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 26, 2026
Who will replace Santner and Jacks?
Allah Ghazanfar could replace Santner in the opening match on March 29. The Afghanistan spinner has a similar skillset and could stop the heavy run-scoring in the middle overs. Sherfane Rutherford could come in place of Jacks in the lower order.
Santner scored 120 runs with the bat at a strike rate above 140 and made a crucial contribution with the ball in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Jacks smashed 226 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 176.56, and also took nine wickets during the tournament. The five-time IPL champions last won the IPL trophy in 2020, and will aim for the sixth title in the 19th edition of the tournament.
MI’s probable playing XII vs KKR : Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwani Kumar/Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult.