Mumbai Indians (MI) are up against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 16 of IPL 2025, taking place at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday, April 4. However fans were left surprised as Rohit Sharma was missing from the MI playing XI.

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Rohit Sharma Ruled Out Due to Knee Injury

At the toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya confirmed that Rohit Sharma would be sitting out of the game due to a knee injury sustained during training. While Rohit has been struggling with form recently it's the injury that has ruled him out of this match making it his first absence of the season.

To compensate for Rohit's absence Will Jacks has been included in the squad while Raj Angad Bawa makes his debut for MI replacing Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Hardik Pandya shared his thoughts on the decision and provided an update on Rohit Sharma:

"We are gonna bowl first. Looks like a fresh wicket, not sure how it will play. Dew might come in later, so we thought it’s better to chase. We have spoken as a group about not overthinking the pitch conditions and just focusing on playing good cricket. Rohit was hit on the knee, so he is missing out. Jasprit (Bumrah) should be back soon."

With Mumbai Indians eyeing their second win of the season, all eyes will be on Hardik Pandya's leadership and how the team adapts in Rohit's absence.

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

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

Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Tilak Varma, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Satyanarayana Raju, Karn Sharma

Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs: Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Manimaran Siddharth, Akash Singh.