Mumbai Indians out of contention from the IPL 2026 playoffs race? Here's the update

The Mumbai Indians' IPL 2026 season is going from bad to worse. This year, the team has suffered its fourth defeat at home—a venue that was once considered their fortress. Hardik Pandya & Co. tasted their sixth defeat of the season in match 41 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and their chances of reaching the playoffs have now diminished even further.

Despite all this, MI batting coach Kieron Pollard has refused to give up, maintaining that his team possesses the mettle to stage a comeback even from this position. Pollard stated that his team has merely stumbled; they are not yet out of the tournament.

"We have not accepted defeat, but we have accepted that we have been on the losing side more often than not so far in this tournament," Pollard said following MI's 6-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 

"We need to play a complete game of cricket to win matches, because it's getting difficult the way the game is going. But what I can safely say is that, in the dressing room, the spirit of the guys is strong - they are willing and wanting to fight. So these things happen. You could have been worse off,” Pollard said.

"But at the end of the day, we're still playing a game of cricket, and there are a lot of other things more serious in life as well. So it is what it is. Two teams play - you win some, you lose some - and we have been on the losing side," he added.

The defeat against SRH marks MI's sixth loss in eight matches this season, leaving the team in 9th spot on the points table with just two wins. Mumbai had kicked off their campaign this season with a victory against KKR. However, the team subsequently suffered defeats in their next four matches. MI showed signs of getting back on the winning track with a massive 99-run victory over GT, yet in their last two matches, they suffered defeats to CSK and SRH. Against SRH, the team was notably unable to defend a total of 244 runs. Nevertheless, Pollard believes that their team can still mathematically—and in terms of points—qualify for the playoffs.

"When I said 'defeat', I didn't want the headlines to suggest that the Mumbai Indians are out of the tournament, because mathematically and from a points perspective, we are still very much in it. I just wanted to clarify that sometimes you have to be a little more specific to ensure your point comes across clearly. 

"So yes, we have accepted the losses, because we have lost the last couple of games. But overall, we have not accepted defeat in this tournament, because we are not out of it. We will go back, assess what we can do, and see how far we can go in the tournament." 

Kieron Pollard further admitted that his team has not yet been able to put together a complete match this season.

"We haven't played the way we were hoping to so far, and the result is evident to everyone. And this is no secret to anyone. We need to analyse our minor shortcomings and learn how to address them."

"In terms of what has gone wrong, I think we haven't been able to string together a complete game of cricket as a team. It hasn't been as consistent as we would have hoped, and the results are showing that. So it's not something you can shy away from. You can sit and try to pinpoint every little aspect, but collectively, I think we haven't been good enough." 

The Mumbai Indians will face the Chennai Super Kings in their upcoming cricket match on May 2 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. From here, every match will be a do-or-die game for Hardik Pandya & side. If they lose one more game, their direct qualification chances will be almost ended, and they will depend on the other team’s fixture results.