MI finished the season in ninth place with only four wins in 14 league matches.
Mumbai Indians (MI) ended their dismal IPL 2026 campaign with a 30-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (May 24).
Despite a resilient 60 off 42 balls from Suryakumar Yadav and quick thirties from Will Jacks (33 off 18) and Hardik Pandya (34 off 15), MI’s innings was restricted to 175/9 in the chase of 206 runs.
With this outcome, the five-time champions finished ninth on the 10-team points table, managing only four wins in their 14 league matches.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India sinner Ravichandran Ashwin mince no words as he weighed in on MI’s underwhelming show
"At the Wankhede Stadium, if you need 60 runs off 34 balls, I think Mumbai Indians would usually chase it down. But the problem was... yes, that's where things went wrong. Hardik hit well today, even against the spinners. If you remember, for Gujarat Titans, Hardik used to bat at number four or sometimes number five, and he used to take down the spinners," Ashwin said.
Ashwin pointed to a "strange" environment under Hardik’s captaincy where key players failed to perform. Highlighting tactical flaws and batting vulnerabilities, he warned fans not to be surprised if the franchise endures another difficult campaign.
"I think I said it in the commentary box too, Hardik looks like he has a small problem with the hard-length ball. I don't know why, could be fatigue, could be an injury. I said something about this last time too. He got out, mishitting a short, slower ball from Jofra Archer. I think the game turned right there because the partnership of Hardik and Surya would have chased that down, but they were just not able to accelerate.
"This Mumbai Indians team felt a bit strange. I don't know. It cannot be easy. Given their quality, maybe they can come back and play well next year, but I won't be surprised if they find it tough for one more year. Because of the way their team is structured, it looks like a lot of people are not at their best. I don't know what it is, but they are not looking at their best. So, I was surprised this year, but next year I won't be surprised. Next year, even if Mumbai Indians give a middling performance, I wouldn't be surprised. It has been a very disappointing performance," Ashwin stated.
Ashwin was also critical of ace acer Jasprit Bumrah, who took just 4 wickets in 13 matches, ending with an abysmal bowling average of 102.50.
"Jasprit Bumrah wasn't playing today either. It was never going to be easy. It was RR's game to lose, and RR won. I mean, credit where it's due. Jasprit Bumrah not playing was also a bit of a help for Punjab... wait, do you know this record? This is the first time in the history of the IPL that a bowler has played a full season and averaged over 100, and that's Jasprit Bumrah! If I had told anyone this..."