As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season enters a decisive phase with the Revenge Week underway, several franchises at the bottom of the table continue to struggle for the right balance, with injuries playing a major role in derailing their campaigns. Mumbai Indians, one of the most successful franchises in IPL history with 5 titles in their cabinet, have seen their 2026 campaign repeatedly disrupted despite a winning start against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Since then, MI have played 9 matches but managed just 2 wins, with their latest coming in a successful chase of 229 against a struggling Lucknow Super Giants, who now sit at the bottom of the table. The highlight of this bottom table clash was the return of veteran Rohit Sharma, who made an immediate impact after being sidelined for 5 consecutive matches due to a hamstring injury sustained against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The night at the Wankhede Stadium witnessed a vintage Rohit, who scored 84 off just 44 balls, continuing his strong start to the season with an average of nearly 56 in five innings. His mammoth 143-run partnership in under 11 overs with South African wicketkeeper-opener Ryan Rickleton laid a solid foundation, allowing the middle order to chase the target with eight balls to spare comfortably.
Indian Legendary Spinner and expert commentator Harbhajan Singh highlighted Rohit’s impact on this MI setup. Rohit’s captaincy tenure has been central to the franchise’s 5 titles, and his absence due to injury was clearly felt. Although he travelled with the squad and guided the Hardik Pandya-led side from the dugout, Harbhajan emphasised that his experience and presence in the middle were still missing.
“It’s important to be in the middle. You can do only so much sitting in the dugout. But you can make a difference by being in the middle, and Rohit Sharma did exactly that. You needed that foundation to chase down that many runs, and he didn’t just lay the foundation, but built a couple of floors on it as well, leaving very little for the rest to do,” JioStar expert Harbhajan said while speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’.
Rohit misses out on century
Rohit narrowly missed out on his century by 16 runs, but his composed innings showed no signs of rust, making it hard to believe he had spent time away from the pitch due to injury. Harbhajan acknowledged his brilliant knock and reflected on how the table might have looked for MI had Rohit featured in those 5 matches. MI managed just one win in his absence, against the Gujarat Titans, after back-to-back heavy defeats to arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, which would have hurt the most.
“It would have been even better if he had gotten his hundred, but for the time he was there, he played exceptionally well. I wish his injury had healed a little earlier; who knows, they might have won a game or two during that losing streak and would have still been alive in the competition,” Harbhajan added.
MI currently sit 9th on the table with 6 points after ten matches. Their fate is no longer entirely in their own hands, with the focus now on winning their remaining four matches to reach 14 points while hoping rivals drop points along the way. Qualification could come down to fine margins, with Net Run Rate (NRR) potentially deciding the outcome.
“They will give themselves a chance if they win every game from here and get to 14 points. Who knows, if other teams start losing, there could be a net run-rate situation at 14 points; anything can happen,” Harbhajan concluded.
It now remains to be seen whether a Rohit-inspired MI can mount another spectacular comeback, starting with their next clash against RCB, where a win could serve as a strong statement for a potential turnaround.