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The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, for Mumbai Indians, have already concluded as they finished 9th in the points table and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The five-time champions won just four games this season and lost 10. Hardik Pandya, who is the captain of the side, has been in contrasting terms with the franchise.
As per reports from the Indian Express, Hardik Pandya is set to be removed from the leadership role after this season. This is huge news developing and nearing being true in a few months, as he and the management, along with some players, are unhappy with his captaincy on and off the field. Pandya has not been able to manage the stalwarts of Mumbai.
The team management wasn’t keen to retain- Source on Hardik Pandya as MI captain
“There were enough signs during the season that the team management wasn’t keen to retain him as captain. There is a clear buzz in the camp,” said a source.
“The coaching staff was very clear in their message to the senior players that wherever they play, they need to be coachable. There were many instances where the coaching staff recommended something which was backed by data but players didn’t follow it,” said a source.
Hardik Pandya failed to deliver for MI as a captain
Since joining the Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2024 as a traded player, he took over the leadership role for the five-time champions, and in his first season, he faced some serious backlash after Rohit Sharma was removed from captaincy despite winning five titles for the franchise as a captain. Pandya was abused and trolled on social media by his fans.
In the first year of his second stint with the franchise, he and his boys finished 10th in the league table, which was the first time that Mumbai finished at the bottom in the tournament’s history, losing 10 games in the very first season. Following that, Mumbai qualified for the playoffs in 2025 under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy but failed to reach the finals.
A year later, in 2026, after winning the T20 World Cup 2026 with India, everybody had picked MI as one of the title contenders with the kind of squad they looked on paper. But Hardik Pandya and the team disappointed with their performances. The MI skipper scored 206 runs with an average of below 23 and a strike rate below 140.
Will Pandya join CSK?
“There will be serious introspection and discussion in the coming days. Every option would be weighed. Many questions need to be addressed. Going ahead, can Hardik be the captain? Does he stay in the team just as a player?” according to a MI old-timer.
“We haven’t been able to use the Powerplay like some of the more successful teams this IPL. We haven’t moved with the times,” said another source.
He failed to deliver with the ball as well, getting just 4 wickets at an economy of 11.43. After this poor performance, the fans were unhappy, and so was the management. Even Pandya hinted of moving out and possibly joining Chennai Super Kings (CSK) next season. However, nothing has been confirmed yet.
Also Read: “Our process”: Parthiv Patel outlines Gujarat Titans’ strategy for Qualifier 2 vs RR
