The Mumbai Indians bowlers are wearing black armbands in their IPL 2026 match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the reason has been truly felt.
Mumbai Indians could not show anything special in their last match against the Chennai Super Kings at this very venue of the Wankhede Stadium. However, their aim would be to bounce back against Sunrisers Hyderabad, especially after making so many changes to the team.
Why do Mumbai Indians players wear black armbands in front of SRH?
The Mumbai Indians players will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their eighth match of the season, and that too at their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. The Hardik Pandya-led team has been seen sporting black armbands when they come out to bat.
They had reported the same thing through a small announcement before the start of the game, where they stated that they would wear those black bands in memory of the untimely death of one of the staff members’ daughters.
“Due to the untimely passing of our support staff’s daughter, Mumbai Indians players will be wearing black armbands today, in remembrance and solidarity with the family,” the note read.
Due to the untimely passing of our support staff’s daughter, Mumbai Indians players wear a black armband today, in memory of her and in solidarity with the family. pic.twitter.com/u5j1ijfeVp
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 29, 2026
Mumbai Indians make massive changes to playing XI ahead of SRH clash
Mumbai Indians have not been on the winning side on most occasions this season and are looking for their best combination, especially with the bat as their bowlers, despite all possible combinations, failed to execute.
They made some surprising changes to the XI, with Quinton de Kock missing this match with a wrist injury. Ryan Rickelton is back with the Mumbai Indians and is back in the spotlight with some incredible shooting plays.
They also eventually bought the likes of Will Jacks and dropped Sherfane Rutherford from the side with Trent Boult returning to the playing XI.
Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks give MI a promising start on the power play
What seemed to be one of the biggest negatives for MI this season was a good start on the power play. After that first match and that great partnership between Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton, Mumbai Indians struggled in the powerplay.
With Will Jacks returning to open the innings alongside Ryan Rickelton, the duo gave them a perfect start with 78 runs in the powerplay. The two-handed MI had a scoring rate of over 13 runs per over and set the tone for a massive total, before Jacks was finally dismissed off the bowling of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the eighth over of the game.
With Quinton de Kock likely to return soon, the trio could do wonders for Mumbai Indians if they can form the team’s top 3, looking to contribute in most games.
ALSO READ: Why is Quinton de Kock not playing today’s match vs SRH in IPL 2026?