Why is Pooja Vastrakar Not Playing Today in MI vs RCB WPL 2026?

The moment for which the fans were desperately waiting has finally come. The fourth edition of the Women's Premier League kicks off today with the first match being played between the two-time champions, Mumbai Indians and 2024 WPL winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The MI vs RCB WPL 2026 match is taking place at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. RCB won the toss and asked MI-W to bat first. However, when the playing XI for both teams was announced, the fans were left surprised as RCB's star all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar was dropped from the first match.

Why is Pooja Vastrakar Not Playing Today?

Pooja Vastrakar is a right-arm medium-fast bowler who can also contribute with the bat. Her abilities made her one of the best women cricketers going around when she was performing well for India. However, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana decided to bench Vastrakar for the first match. The reason behind her absence is that she has tweaked her hamstring during a recent practice session and will be out of action for a couple of weeks as confirmed RCB fielding coach Malolan Rangarajan.

"Pooja (Vastrakar) was supposed to be relieved by the third week of December from COE after her shoulder rehab, buta couple of days earlier to that, she tweaked her hamstring. Now, so she will join us after a couple of weeks, hopefully," Rangarajan said.

Prema Rawat was selected as Pooja Vastrakar replacement for the MI-W vs RCB-W WPL match. Rawat is a legspinner and can be a key bowler for RCB this season in the middle overs.

Pooja Vastrakar WPL Career

Pooja Vastrakar first made her Women's Premier League debut in the inaugural edition of the league in 2023. Since then, she has bowled in 12 matches but managed to pick up only seven wickets at an average of 28.86. However, she's impressed with her bat.

In the 16 innings, she has scored 155 runs at a strike rate of 116.67, including 11 fours and three sixes. But injury concerns have hampered her in recent times. She even missed out on the 2025 WPL season and wasn't even a part of India's squad in the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup.

It would be interesting to see if the star all-rounder will get to play RCB's upcoming matches or not. Once seen as one of the best all-rounders in WPL, Vastrakar must be hoping to get a chance and make a comeback into the national team as well.