MI have lost six of their eight matches in the ongoing IPL season under Pandya's captaincy.
Hardik Pandya’s return to Mumbai Indians (MI) as captain has been fraught with challenges, with the team struggling in IPL 2026 after a dismal 2024 campaign and a 2025 playoff loss.
With only two wins from eight matches in the ongoing season, MI face a must-win situation to keep playoff hopes alive, raising questions about the all-rounder’s future leadership.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull suggested that if MI do not intend to keep Hardik as skipper for the following season, they should release him entirely.
Doull expressed skepticism about how Pandya would perform in a role where he was not the designated leader, mentioning that he has not excelled in the current environment at MI.
"My point would be: who is your captain next year? If they are going to change something, who is going to be the captain next year? If it is not going to be Hardik Pandya, release him. Only because I don't know how he will perform in an environment where he has underperformed, his team has underperformed for three years, and then his job goes," Doull said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that captaincy is a double-edged sword—it could either "free him up" to play with more confidence or lead to a spiral of feeling like he has "failed" if the team doesn't perform.
"It might free him up, it might not. It might make him feel, 'I have failed.' It could go either way. When fully fit, Hardik has been one of the best all-rounders in the game. My only point is, if he is not going to be the captain, is he willing to take the backseat, put in the hard yards, and just be Hardik-the great player-yet again?" Doull remarked.
Former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa, who was also part of the discussion, agreed that a review of Hardik's captaincy is necessary.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians suffered a six-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday (April 29).
Riding on Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 123 off 55 balls, MI racked up a mammoth 243/5 on the board, but SRH reached the target with eight deliveries to spare.
The chase was led by a 129-run opening stand between Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24), followed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 off 30 balls and Salil Arora’s cameo (30* off 10).
This loss left MI languishing at ninth spot in the 10-team points table. They will next face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on Saturday (May 2).