As Mumbai Indians (MI) prepare to host Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium, the primary question on every fan’s mind is the availability of their talisman Rohit Sharma. With Mumbai currently fighting a battle to stay alive in the tournament, the absence of their most experienced batter has been felt deeply in the top order.

Mumbai Indians find themselves at the bottom of the table, having managed just two wins from nine games. The pressure on captain Hardik Pandya has intensified following a string of narrow losses, and the return of Rohit Sharma could provide the mental and tactical boost the side desperately needs. However, the medical team is reportedly cautious about rushing the veteran back into action.

Injury Update: Rohit Sharma “still a game-time decision”

Rohit Sharma has been out of action since April 12, following a hamstring strain sustained during the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While he traveled with the team to Chennai last week, he did not feature in the playing XI against CSK, with the management opting to give him more time to recover.

MI Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene provided a brief update during the pre-match press conference.

“Rohit is progressing well and has increased his intensity in the nets over the last 48 hours. He is keen to lead the charge at the Wankhede, but we have to balance his eagerness with the long-term risk. We will take a final call after the warm-ups this evening.”

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In his absence, MI has struggled for a settled opening pair, relying on the explosive but inconsistent duo of Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks. If Rohit is deemed fit, he is likely to replace Rickelton at the top, allowing Jacks to drop to his preferred number three spot.

On the other side, Lucknow Super Giants had been sweating over the workload management of their Mohsin Khan who seems fit and ready to go. He has picked up nine wickets from four matches. His economy rate of 6.37 is the best for any bowler with a minimum of five overs.

MI vs LSG Probable Playing XIs

Lucknow Super Giants (probable): 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Josh Inglis/Nicholas Pooran, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Himmat Singh, 7 Mukul Choudhary, 8 George Linde, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Digvesh Rathi, 12 Mohsin Khan

Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Will Jacks, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Naman Dhir, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Robin Minz, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Trent Boult, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Raghu Sharma