indian premier league - ipl

Why Is Will Jacks Not in MI Playing XI for MI vs KKR IPL 2026 Game?

Sreejita Sen

Last updated: March 29, 2026

2 min read

Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to kickoff their IPL 2026 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). But the star England all-rounder Will Jacks is among the notable absentees in MI’s overseas combination for tonight’s fixture.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 Playing XI

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (C), Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Trent Boult.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, and Blessing Muzarabani.

Why Will Jacks Is Not Playing in MI vs KKR IPL 2026 Clash

Alongside Mitchell Santner, Jacks is also set to join the MI camp at least a week later due to some personal reasons. The exact date for his return is yet to be known. Notably, following the MI vs KKR match, the five-time champions will next take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) in an away game on Saturday.

However, the 27-year-old had an impactful debut season for the franchise last year, notching up 233 runs and snaring six wickets in 13 matches. He is also coming off a spectacular all-round show in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026. Besides consistently chipping in with the ball, Jacks also rescued the English line-up multiple times in the event to guide the team to a few comprehensive totals.

In eight fixtures, the player put up 226 runs at a fierce strike rate of 176.56 and also scalped nine wickets at an economy of 9.75. MI would hope for Jacks to join the squad soon and replicate a similar performance with both of his skills in the IPL 2026.

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Mumbai Indians Would Look to Make Strong Comeback in Middle Overs

Despite a decent start in the first two overs, MI bowlers have failed to extend their grip on the swashbuckling KKR openers. The pair of captain Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen (37 off 17) has provided a smashing start to the three-time winners, guiding the team to 78/1 in the powerplay.

Debutant AM Ghazanfar and MI skipper Hardik Pandya have conceded 17 and 26 runs in their first overs of the night, respectively. But after a crucial breakthrough by Shardul Thakur to dismiss the destructive Black Caps batter, MI would be keen to shift the momentum on their side during the middle overs.

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