IPL 2026: MI Unfazed by Vaibhav Suryavanshi Ahead of RR Match

Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has assured that his team is not concerned about Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) young star Vaibhav Suryavanshi as the two teams face off in their IPL 2026 clash in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Vaibhav, who is just 15 years old, made an impressive start to his IPL career with a 17-ball 52 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and followed it up with 31 runs from 18 balls against Gujarat Titans (GT). In IPL 2025, he scored 252 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 206.55, including one half-century and one century.

Mhambrey noted that Vaibhav is not new to the league, as it’s his second season. He emphasized that MI won’t prepare any special strategies for him, stating they treat all players equally.

The coach also downplayed the threat posed by RR spinner Ravi Bishnoi, saying he doesn’t see him as a mystery player anymore. Bishnoi has taken 1/16 against CSK and 4/41 against GT so far this season. Mhambrey explained that every cricketer experiences good and bad phases.

Meanwhile, MI, led by Hardik Pandya, has had a mixed start to IPL 2026. They defeated Kolkata Knight Riders with six wickets, chasing 221 easily, but then lost to Punjab Kings by six wickets while defending 203/6. RR, currently third with four points from two matches, is performing better than MI, who are sixth with two points from the same number of games.