Hanuman Bhakta’s entry in IPL 2026, included in the team in place of Santner, rewarded for good bowling on Indian pitches

New Delhi. The road to IPL 2026 is becoming thorny for Mumbai Indians, who are struggling with poor form. The team’s star Kiwi all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a shoulder injury. In his place, South African veteran spinner Keshav Maharaj has been included in the team. Keshav Maharaj is being seen as a like-to-like replacement.

The current season of IPL is struggling with injuries to players and Santner’s exclusion is another big name in this list. Santner suffered this injury while taking a brilliant catch from Karthik Sharma during the match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Although at that time he was replaced by Shardul Thakur as a concussion substitute, but after the medical reports, he will no longer be available for the entire season.
Keshav Maharaj’s entry in Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians have officially announced that Keshav Maharaj will replace Mitchell Santner for the rest of the season. Keshav Maharaj is one of the best spinners of South Africa and has long experience in international cricket. Amidst the ever increasing list of injured players, Maharaj’s entry can strengthen the spin department of the team. Keshav Maharaj bowled brilliantly for South Africa in the recently concluded World Cup matches.

IPL 2026: Growing list of injured players

This season, almost every big team has lost its important players due to injury. The injury streak in IPL 2026 has been quite long and so far around 20 key players have been affected due to injury or fitness problems. Many of these players have been out for the entire season, while some have been unavailable in the initial matches. Many teams have had to announce replacements midway through the tournament or even before it started due to injuries to their key players: Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Nathan Ellis (hamstring) and Ayush Mhatre have been ruled out for the entire season. Khalil Ahmed has also recently joined the list of injured players. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Harshit Rana (knee surgery) and Akash Deep (back injury) will miss the entire tournament. Rajasthan Royals (RR): Sam Curran (groin injury) is out for the season. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Jack Edwards (foot injury) unavailable for the entire season
Mumbai Indians (MI): Before Sethner, Atharva Ankolekar (knee injury) is also out.