Why did Will Jacks & Mitchell Santner miss MI vs KKR clash of IPL 2026?

Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner were retained by Mumbai Indians for IPL 2026.

In the match 2 of Indian Premier League 2026, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are locking horns at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, March 29. While MI aim for their sixth title, KKR look to win their fourth trophy in IPL 2026.

MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first. Notably, two crucial overseas players are missing from MI’s playing XI in the encounter.

Spin all-rounders Mitchell Santner and Will Jacks were not part of Mumbai’s playing XI against KKR. Both were retained by the franchise in their squad for IPL 2026. While Santner was retained for INR 2 crore, Jacks was retained for 5.25 crore.

Why Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner not part of MI vs KKR game?

Notably, both overseas players have asked for an extended break before joining the MI squad for IPL 2026. Hence, both of them are not part of MI vs KKR clash.

Santner was recently part of a five-match T20I series against South Africa in New Zealand, where he played in the first three matches. He is yet to arrive in India and join the MI squad. Earlier this month, he led New Zealand to the final of T20 World Cup 2026, where they lost against India and ended as runners-up.

Jacks was a stand-out performer for England in the T20 World Cup, winning four Player of Match awards. England reached the semi-final of the tournament, where they lost to Suryakumar Yadav & Co. by seven runs.

MI playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

KKR playing XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani

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