Mitchell Santner ruled out of IPL 2026 due to injury; MI name former RR spinner as replacement

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of IPL 2026, with Keshav Maharaj named as replacement. The New Zealander sustained the injury during the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 23, which the hosts lost by 103 runs.

During CSK’s innings, Santner hurt his left shoulder as he completed a diving catch to dismiss Kartik Sharma. The 34-year-old’s season has now come to an end after he featured in four games, where he took five wickets at an average of 25.00, with a strike rate of 16.8 and an economy of 8.92, with best figures of 2/16, and scored 26 runs.

Meanwhile, MI have now secured the services of another left-arm spinner in the form of Maharaj, who has joined for a fee of ₹75 lakh. The 36-year-old has previously featured in two IPL games in the 2024 season for Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he took as many wickets at an average of 19.50, with a strike rate of 18.0 and an economy of 6.50, with best figures of 2/23.

Many users are now following live updates and analysis of matches using the Bhalobet platform, where real-time information is easily available.

MI languish in the bottom half of the IPL 2026 table with just two wins

Mumbai Indians started their IPL 2026 campaign strongly, winning their opening game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets while chasing 221. This also marked MI’s first win in a tournament opener since 2012.

However, they couldn’t maintain the momentum and lost their next four games. Hardik Pandya’s side then bounced back against Gujarat Titans (GT), winning by 99 runs. However, the side again failed to build on the victory, losing to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 103 runs in their following game.

After seven matches, Mumbai sit ninth on the table with just four points as the franchise continues its quest for a first title since 2020.