The second leg of Indian Premier League 2020’s El Classico missed one of its regular stars, as a hamstring injury forced Rohit Sharma out of the game.

Sharma who has missed his only second game in the Mumbai colours, marks his first absentee against Chennai. The Indian opener suffered the injury during his side’s match against KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab last Sunday.

Kieron Pollard has taken over the reigns from the four time IPL winning captain.

“Rohit has been advised rest for the match against CSK. Kieron Pollard will lead the team tonight,” the statement added.

Saurabh Tiwary who had spend most of the season on bench owing to Ishan Kishan’s fine touch was announced as the replacement for Rohit.

The last time Rohit sat out, Pollard lead the team against Kings XI Punjab in the Wankhede stadium in the 2019 season. The Trinidadian cricketer scored 83 runs of 31 balls to take Mumbai home then.

Mumbai wrecked Chennai’s batting line-up by claiming five wickets under six overs, with Trent Boult picking three while Jasprit Bumrah dismissing two batsmen. 

In a statement issued before the CSK game, Mumbai Indians said, “Rohit Sharma has suffered left leg hamstring strain during Mumbai Indians’ last outing.” “Rohit has made good progress over last four days, while the management is taking one day at a time monitoring the recovery process in consultancy with BCCI,” the statement added.