‘Release Hardik Pandya’: Michael Vaughan tells MI, proposes shock KKR captaincy move for IPL 2027

Michael Vaughan made a shock proposal to the Mumbai Indians, which could, in turn, benefit the Kolkata Knight Riders as well.

The Mumbai Indians' season in the IPL 2026 ended much earlier. They were among the first teams to be eliminated from the race to the playoffs. And after all the scrutiny that has surrounded the franchise this season – like their star players not being in form, the players not functioning in unison and of course, Hardik Pandya's captaincy, which has faced the brunt of the criticism – finally the discussions around Mumbai have shifted to who they could retain or release. Former England captain Michael Vaughan made a shock proposal to the Mumbai Indians, which could, in turn, benefit the Kolkata Knight Riders as well.

Mumbai Indians' captain Hardik Pandya, right, and Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Ajinkya Rahane during the toss (PTI)

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Vaughan did not spare a second thought when asked about Hardik. "Release," he said. But then, I added an outside-the-box suggestion. "Replace him with Cameron Green," he said.

The why of it came later, but Vaughan admitted he never saw the logic behind Hardik's move back to Mumbai after two successful seasons at the Gujarat Titans, where he led the franchise to back-to-back finals, one of them even culminating in a title win. "No. I have seen enough. I didn't really see the dynamic of bringing him back. He was doing well with the Gujarat Titans, won a title there with a different set of players and a different coach. I feel Mumbai have got too many chefs in the kitchen," he added.

Former KKR Team Director Joy Bhattacharjya agreed with Vaughan, saying Mumbai got to release him after the captaincy experiment failed to work. Hardik joined MI for his second stint before the 2024 season. Mumbai failed to qualify for the playoffs twice, including a bottom-place finish in his maiden year as skipper. However, he did lead MI to a Qualifier 2 finish last season.

"Release him. He has had three seasons with him, and clearly the experiment hasn't worked," he said.

Joy reckoned that even the idea of keeping him as just a player won't work out for him or the franchise. "It doesn't make sense. It will be difficult for him to play just as a player. It will be better for both Mumbai and Hardik," he added.

Not a bad suggestion, if you think about it!

It was this point that Vaughan interrupted to explain why he wanted the Green-Hardik swap. "If he wants to carry on as captain, then he'd better be with a fresh set of captains. Maybe KKR. Kolkata will be looking for a new captain. That is why the Green-Hardik swap," he said.

KKR will indeed seek a new captain for next season after a failed outing for incumbent leader Ajinkya Rahane this season, both as a skipper and a batter. In fact, PTI had reported last week that he is among the three captains likely to lose their role at the end of this season, however, it is unlikely that Green will be released.

The Aussie, who was bought for a whopping INR 25.20 crore at the auction last year, did struggle in the first half of the IPL 2026 season, but bounced back to score 316 runs in 13 innings thus far, with two fifties, while also picking seven wickets.