Mumbai Indians (MI) fans were left disappointed as their star opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the IPL 2025 clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Reason behind Rohit Sharma’s absence

At the toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya confirmed that Rohit suffered a knee injury during a practice session and was declared unfit for the match. The decision to rest Rohit appears to be precautionary, as the extent of his injury has not been disclosed by the team management.

“We are gonna bowl first. Looks like a fresh wicket. Not sure how it is going to play. Looks a decent track. Dew might come in later. Thought better to chase,” said Hardik after winning the toss.

“Rohit was hit on the knee during practice. He is missing out,” the MI skipper added.

Rohit’s absence comes at a critical juncture for MI, who have struggled with consistency this season, winning only one of their first three matches. The five-time IPL champions are currently sixth on the points table and were banking on Rohit to bounce back from his poor form. The veteran batter has had a rough start to IPL 2025, with scores of 0, 8, and 13 in his previous outings.

LSG vs MI: Playing XI of both teams

Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan

Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Vignesh Puthur, Trent Boult

Impact substitutes

MI: Tilak Varma, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Satyanarayana Raju, Karn Sharma

LSG: Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Manimaran Siddharth, Akash Singh.