3 min readUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 07:32 PM IST
Hardik Pandya is back in the hot seat as Mumbai Indians captain as the five-time champions look to reignite their pedigree to challenge for the title in the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). MI are the joint-most succesfull team in the history of the league but they have had a topsy-turvy journey since their last IPL victory six years ago. Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has urged MI to stay patient with Pandya if they don’t perform well this season or phase him out respectfully for Suryakumar Yadav if they see that as an option, unlike what he says they did for Rohit Sharma.
“I don’t think that Mumbai Indians should make the same mistake again. They had a poor season after removing Rohit Sharma and bringing Hardik Pandya in. Hardik Pandya is settling in his role now. They played Qualifier 2 last year. So, Hardik Pandya did a good job as captain,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Pandya leads a side that consists of Suryakumar and Rohit, both of whom led India to victory in their last two T20 World Cup campaigns. Suryakumar remains India captain in T20Is as well. Pandya was made captain of Mumbai Indians on his return to the franchise. While he was a beloved member of the squad in his first stint and then had extraordinary success with Gujarat Titans, fans were irked by the manner in which Rohit had been removed as captain and Pandya took his place. The anger spilled on to the field with Pandya being booed throughout the 2024 season of the IPL, particularly at home at the Wankhede Stadium. MI ended up finishing b0ttom of the table that year.
However, Pandya then had a bit of a redemption later that year when he became an integral part of India’s succesfull 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. There was a visible shift in mood the next season among MI fans in the IPL and the team reached Qualifier 2. Kaif felt that MI should now look to have stability in leadership.
“Suryakumar Yadav is an option, but it should not happen like how they treated Rohit Sharma, saying now we have Hardik Pandya, who made Gujarat champions, so he will captain now. Hardik was the hot topic then, and they pushed him. Now Suryakumar Yadav is the hot topic. Next year, there will be someone else, so will you remove Surya?” said Kaif.
