Why Is Mitchell Santner Not in Mumbai Indians’ Playing XI Tonight for RR vs MI IPL 2026?

After nearly a three-hour-long wait, the rain has finally halted at the Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati, as the Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians are set for an exciting 11-over clash. Notably, Mitchell Santner has not made it to the visitors’ playing XI tonight for the RR vs MI game.

RR vs MI Playing XIs

Rajasthan Royals: Riyan Parag (C), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, and Sandeep Sharma.

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (C), Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, and Jasprit Bumrah.

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Why Mitchell Santner Is Not Playing in RR vs MI IPL 2026

MI have brought Trent Boult back in the starting XI in a bid to strengthen their pace attack in the rain-interrupted RR vs MI clash. This saw his New Zealand teammate, Santner, missing out on participating in the fixture. Moreover, MI are playing AM Ghazanfar in the match, considering a southpaw-heavy batting order of the hosts.

Notably, the Afghanistani spinner had a disastrous debut match in the tournament, conceding 51 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at an expensive economy rate of 12.75. Boult, who was MI’s highest wicket-taker of the previous edition, also had an average outing facing the Knights. The management would be hoping for a few crucial scalps from both of them to earn a strong edge in the rain-shortened RR vs MI encounter.

On the other hand, the Black Caps player had put up an all-round show in the franchise’s previous match against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Santner (18* off 13 balls) had forged a much-needed partnership with Corbin Bosch during the final few overs to propel the side towards a fighting total of 162/6. He also bowled an economical spell in the second innings to return with the figure of 1/22.

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