NZC provides official update on Mitchell Santner's shoulder injury in IPL 2026

New Zealand cricketer Mitchell Santner has been confirmed to have undergone a grade-three ACL tear after injuring his left shoulder while fielding in IPL 2026. The star all-rounder was playing for the Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on April 23, when he dislocated his shoulder, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed.

Santner could not take any further part in the game and was eventually subbed out in the match. A day later, it was confirmed that Santner has been ruled out of the marquee T20 tournament, the scope of which has now extended to his international assignments for the BlackCaps as well. He has been ruled out of the upcoming one-off Test against Ireland. He may be able to play the series against England in its latter half.

"The 34-year-old returned home to New Zealand this week and saw a specialist this morning who confirmed a rest and rehabilitation period of at least one month. The diagnosis means Santner is unavailable for the one-off Test against Ireland and the first Test against England, with his availability for the second and third Tests to be evaluated at a later date," NZC said in a statement on Friday, May 01.

Notably, MI has already announced a replacement for the departed Santner for the rest of the IPL season, with South African spinner Keshav Maharaj filling the void. Maharaj has already joined the MI dugout but has yet to feature in a game for them. Santner's injury is not the first for MI this season; they have already seen the departure of Atharva Ankolekar, while Rohit Sharma is currently recuperating from a strain.

Rohit may feature in MI's next fixture, which will be played against CSK in Match 44 in Chennai on Saturday, May 02. However, no official update regarding the same has been provided by the Mumbai-based franchise thus far.