Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the Mumbai Indians (MI) can field a formidable playing combination in their IPL 2026 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) if Rohit Sharma is fit and available.
He noted that the five-time champions can potentially play both Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks to add depth to their batting. MI will host SRH in the 41st game of IPL 2026 in Mumbai on Wednesday, April 29. The home team has garnered only four points from seven games and is placed ninth on the points table.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter questioned how good a team MI would be if Danish Malewar makes way for Rohit, and Rutherford and Jacks bat at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.
“The assessment of Rohit Sharma’s availability hasn’t been done yet. Danish Malewar has played two matches, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been good. They will have to move away. However, too many Indian players aren’t sitting outside,” Chopra said.
“If Rohit Sharma plays, just hear out the batting order, and then tell me whether this team is good or not if Quinton de Kock is with Rohit Sharma, and you play Naman Dhir at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, Tilak Varma at No.5, Hardik Pandya at No. 6, and you play Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively,” he added.
“You feel Will Jack or Sherfane shouldn’t be at No. 8. So, you can play both or one of them. The option is absolutely open with you. If you play Will Jacks at No. 7, you can play Corbin Bosch at No. 8. You can go with proper batting till No. 8. You can keep Allah Ghazanfar at No. 9, Jasprit Bumrah at No. 10, and Ashwani Kumar at No. 11,” he observed.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that while Rohit Sharma needs to be available for MI’s IPL 2026 clash against SRH, it might not be possible to accommodate Keshav Maharaj in the playing combination.
“Rohit coming in is imperative. Keshav Maharaj has come in place of Mitchell Santner, but you won’t be able to play him in this match, and he is not like-for-like either in a sense because Mitchell Santner provides batting,” he said.
“Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, you haven’t really turned up for this tournament. You have such a big name and legacy, and so much pedigree, so this is the time. Where will this team go if you don’t score runs? If you don’t win this game, you can bid your chances goodbye,” Chopra concluded.
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