Hardik Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)

NEW DELHI: When will Hardik Pandya return? How serious is his injury? When will the Mumbai Indians captain be back in action? These are some of the questions dominating social media as Pandya has now missed three consecutive matches for Mumbai Indians.Sidelined with a back spasm, Pandya first missed Mumbai Indians’ home clash against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4. He then sat out the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur despite travelling with the squad. In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav led the side. Pandya also did not travel to Dharamsala for Mumbai Indians’ six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, where Jasprit Bumrah became MI’s third captain this season after Suryakumar missed the game following the birth of his child.Mumbai Indians all-rounder Shardul Thakur provided a major update on Pandya and confirmed that the all-rounder’s absence from the last three games was injury-related.Shardul also hinted that Pandya could return for Mumbai Indians’ next match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on May 20, while dismissing speculation surrounding the MI captain’s future with the franchise.“Hardik is injured, so he couldn’t travel for a couple of games,” Thakur said during the post-match media interaction on Thursday.“He went to Raipur (for the RCB match on May 10), but couldn’t play. He is training in Mumbai now and I expect him to be back in Kolkata and play (at Eden Gardens on May 20). Players like them, we always miss the quality,” Thakur added.Mumbai Indians have already been eliminated from IPL 2026, and Pandya’s poor form has been one of the major reasons behind the team’s disappointing campaign.The all-rounder has endured a difficult season both as captain and player.In eight innings, Pandya has scored 146 runs at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44, with a highest score of 40. With the ball, he has picked up just four wickets at an average of 61.50 and an economy rate of nearly 11.90 in 20.4 overs.