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Rohit Sharma cuts a distraught figure, Jasprit Bumrah runs out of ideas as Hardik Pandya struggles with MI captaincy
Nothing is going right for the Mumbai Indians. The five-time champions have suffered four defeats in a row.
When Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians' captain in December of 2024, the management wanted instant results. Could the owners be blamed? Not really. Consider the facts. Hardik had just won an Indian Premier League (IPL) title as captain of the Gujarat Titans and then led the same franchise to the final the next year. Meanwhile, Rohit was struggling with the bat as Mumbai went three years without the title. Hence, with the switch, it was believed that the succession plan had begun. After all, Hardik spent his formative years with the franchise, and it was MI who gave him the stage to make the world his oyster.
The Mumbai Indians erred in not retaining Hardik ahead of the IPL 2022 season, and the Gujarat Titans cashed in on the opportunity by signing him as a marquee player, giving him the captaincy straight away. The thought process would have been simple for the five-time champions – poach Hardik.
Having said that, three years into bringing Hardik back, the move hasn't worked out. The 2024 season saw the Mumbai Indians finish last in the points table, and although the last edition fared better with a Playoff finish, IPL 2026 has once again exposed a dark underbelly. Hardik is clearly running out of ideas.
Also Read: Ex-India star tells Hardik Pandya to ‘take rest from captaincy’ and hand reins to Rohit Sharma: ‘Don’t want to be harsh'
Hardik is losing patience with how things are unfolding. On Thursday, the Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth straight defeat, going down by seven wickets to the Punjab Kings. The all-rounder pulled no punches after the loss, speaking bluntly. “We really need to see, do we need to make some difficult calls, or do we need to keep continuing and hope that we'll turn things around. These are some hard questions which eventually we need to answer, and yeah, ownership has to be taken,” said Hardik.
Which individuals was Hardik alluding to? It’s hard to say for certain. He would be the first to admit that his own performances haven’t been up to scratch in IPL 2026. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma are struggling for runs, while Jasprit Bumrah is showing he, too, can endure a lean phase – shockingly, he is yet to take a wicket this season despite bowling 114 deliveries. Rohit, meanwhile, missed the clash against the Punjab Kings with a hamstring injury.
Visible cracks
For the first time this IPL season, Hardik’s frustration spilled onto the field. His expression said it all as Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer made light work of the 196-run target, sealing the chase with 21 balls to spare. Every boundary brought the cameras back to him, and the Mumbai Indians captain cut a visibly agitated figure – restless, animated and constantly directing his bowlers and fielders. The calm was gone, replaced by frustration as the hapless display unfolded.
Even Bumrah looked unsettled, running out of ideas to stem the flow. He dropped a sitter off Hardik’s bowling and immediately turned away in disbelief. In the dugout, Rohit cut a grim figure throughout, head tilted back in frustration at the lacklustre effort with the ball.
Mumbai Indians fail to evolve
It’s safe to say the MI management misread the warning signs in their bowling attack. In a tournament where most teams aim to field two or three strike bowlers, Mumbai have leaned heavily on Jasprit Bumrah. Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult and Shardul Thakur are no longer the forces they once were. Boult no longer plays international cricket, and the game has a way of catching up if the grind isn’t sustained. Chahar, too, has lost his reliability in the powerplay, often conceding 18-20 runs in his opening over. Shardul remains a wicket-taker, but one who leaks runs just as quickly.
With this attack, opposition teams are content to see off Bumrah. That alone explains why the premier quick has gone wicketless in the first five games. The remaining overs have turned into a free-for-all, allowing batters to take their chances elsewhere while keeping Bumrah quiet. Another concern is the lack of quality Indian spin. Mayank Markande hasn’t had a standout season since 2018, while Mitchell Santner and Allah Ghazanfar, the overseas options, require assistance from the surface.
Contrast that with Mumbai’s peak years – Bumrah, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Boult, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla – match-winners across phases. The drop-off is stark. The consequences of those missteps are now visible on the field.
