Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh made a bold remark about Mumbai Indians’ playoff dreams. Singh, who is the part of Hindi commentary panel for the Indian Premier League 2026, said that had Rohit Sharma healed earlier, the team’s playoff chances would have been better. Notably, Sharma, the former MI skipper returned to action during the clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday at Wankhede. He had missed a few games due to a hamstring injury sustained during the loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 12.

However, as Rohit Sharma returned on Monday, he came up with a crucial 84-run knock off 44 deliveries to guide the side to their only third victory of the season, and second in the last five games. The 39-year-old built a crucial 143-run stand off 65 balls to narrow the gap, and later push the side to a much-needed six-wicket win.

Following the win, Harbhajan Singh claimed that had Sharma recovered faster from the injury, the team’s playoff hopes would have been still alive. Speaking on Jio Hotstar, the cricketer-turned-commentator said, "I wish his injury had healed a little earlier - who knows, they might have won a game or two during that losing streak & would have still been alive in the competition.”

Singh also went on to say that the Mumbai Indians would still give themselves a chance considering they win every game left and the other teams start losing. “They will give themselves a chance if they win every game from here and get to 14 points. Who knows, if other teams start losing, there could be a net run-rate situation at 14 points, anything can happen,” Singh added.

Rohit Sharma surpasses Virat Kohli’s record, eyes MS Dhoni’s next

The 39-year-old batter surpassed a Virat Kohli record during his much-awaited return to the field. As ‘Hitman’ stepped in on the field, he overtook Virat Kohli in the number of games played in the IPL. Notably, the former RCB skipper has played 276 matches, while Sharma has 277 IPL caps. However, despite not playing a single game in the IPL 2026 thus far, former CSK skipper and legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni sits on the top.

Dhoni has played a total of 278 IPL games, which means Sharma is just one game short of levelling his former Indian teammate and two behind grabbing the top spot in the standings. Meanwhile, there is no clarity as to when Dhoni will play his first game of the season. He hasn’t travelled to Delhi for the clash against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday, May 5.