Surprisingly, Danish Malewar and Krish Bhagat were chosen to start for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026 match between MI and GT at Narendra Modi Stadium. Rohit Sharma’s hamstring problem meant he rested, giving Indian players the opportunity to perform in a very important game against Gujarat Titans.
Rohit Sharma rested after hamstring injury
Rohit Sharma’s hamstring was injured in the previous game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Mumbai Indians decided not to take a risk with their experienced captain and decided to let him get better instead of rushing him back.
Because of this, Mumbai Indians had to change their batting order at the top and left out Ryan Rickelton, the overseas opener, as he hadn’t been playing well. The team thought Malewar and Bhagat would combine experience and good performance in domestic (Indian) cricket.
Who is Danish Malewar?
Danish Malewar is 21 or 22, a right-handed batter who comes in at the top of the order and also bowls leg spin. He’s from Nagpur, and started playing for the Vidarbha state team when he was only 12 after coming up through the younger age groups.
Malewar has been doing very well in important domestic games. He got 203 runs on his very first appearance in the Duleep Trophy – he’s the first player from Vidarbha to ever get a double century (200+ runs) in that competition.
He also reached 1,000 runs in first-class cricket after only 16 innings, and was hugely important in Vidarbha winning the Ranji Trophy. In the 2024-25 Ranji season he scored 783 runs, averaging 52 runs per innings.
Style and expectations as an opener
Malewar is known for batting in a way that is both forceful and technically correct. He can stay in to bat for a long time, or start to score more quickly if the situation needs it, making him a versatile player at the beginning of the innings.
Mumbai Indians bought him for 30 lakh (a relatively small amount). He was immediately put in the spotlight, opening the batting with Quinton de Kock and facing a lot of pressure at Narendra Modi Stadium.
He didn’t do very well in his first IPL game, being given out LBW (leg before wicket) by Kagiso Rabada for only 2 runs off 4 balls. This early dismissal showed how difficult it would be to replace a player as good as Rohit Sharma in a big match.
Who is Krish Bhagat?
Krish Bhagat is a 21-year-old all-rounder from Punjab who bowls fast with his right arm and bats right-handed. He had already joined Mumbai Indians as a replacement earlier in the season, and moved up from being a support player.
He was chosen to play after doing well in trials, playing in the DY Patil T20 Cup and helping out as a bowler in practice. He’s been with Mumbai Indians’ trial system for two years, and has been steadily improving.
The team management has said how much they appreciate his dedication and how consistently he plays and trains, and captain Hardik Pandya said Bhagat was in the team only three days before the game.
Roles and likely impact in the playing XI
Krish Bhagat will likely be used to bowl during the middle part of the innings to keep things under control and get the opposition out. His speed and accuracy could really help a bowling attack that hasn’t been taking wickets regularly.
He’s also able to score some runs lower down the batting order when needed. Bhagat is a sensible attempt by MI to find more strength in depth from younger players while their main players get back into good form and are fit.
Match context and what this selection means for MI
Mumbai Indians are near the bottom of the league standings, which has led to them trying different tactics and giving chances to younger players. Choosing Malewar and Bhagat demonstrates that they’re willing to trust domestic players even when there’s a lot of pressure.
Gujarat Titans won the coin toss and decided to bowl, saying that the pitch will get dewy (damp) and it’s usually easier to chase a score at that ground. This decision instantly put more pressure on Mumbai Indians’ new opening batsmen to get the team off to a good start.
These debuts could lead to bigger changes to the team in the future if these young players do well. For now, Mumbai Indians fans will be looking to see if Malewar and Bhagat can turn their success in domestic cricket into something similar in the IPL.
