Hardik Pandya's captaincy of Mumbai Indians was defended by head coach Mahela Jayawardene after their fourth straight loss in IPL 2026. The five-time winners are facing a backlash from fans after a poor run of form.
The Mumbai Indians had a flying start to IPL 2026, having defeated Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in their opening game. Their campaign since then however, has gone south. They recently lost to Punjab Kings who achieved their target and defeated the Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets at Mumbai.
The latest defeat sparked an angry reaction from the fans, who seemed to be critical of Hardik Pandya's captaincy. To add to the flames, a clip of Hardik Pandya seemingly unhappy with star bowler Jasprit Bumrah went viral across social media during the PBKS match and in the same clip, Bumrah is seen apologising to the MI captain, however, the exact cause of the exchange could not be ascertained. This has led fans to suspect unrest in the MI camp.
Meanwhile, certain section of fans have questioned MI's decision to bring back Hardik from Gujarat Titans in the 2024 edition of the IPL. Some sections of fans felt they should have gone for Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer instead of Hardik Pandya, as he has led PBKS to the final in the previous season and currently sits at the top of the table with 9 points from 5 matches.
One fan wrote on X:
"Should have been Shreyas Iyer in 2024 not Hardik Pandya, a Mumbai boy to Mumbai boy captaincy change would have been so smooth butalas only one decision ruined it all".
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Jayawardene asks the team to step up not on one individual's shoulders
Jayawardene insisted it wasn't the fault of one person when asked about the negative start to their campaign. He also admitted that the entire team and support staff needed to stand up.
Jayawardene said after their defeat to Punjab Kings:
"I don't think it's just on Hardik, I think it's on every one of us when we are not doing well, It's not an individual. It's pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that to see how can we be better."
He Further added:
"I know we are playing good cricket. We are not taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, clinical; obviously the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start so we just need to control phases that we can control. So I think it's not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt that will give us that confidence."
Coach also has faith in Bumrah, yet to get any wickets in 5 matches so far
Jayawardene also expressed his support for Jasprit Bumrah who is yet to register a single wicket in five matches and feels that other pacers need to support him better.
Jayawardene concluded:
"I think Bumrah is bowling well - it’s just that we are not putting pressure in the powerplay, They know Bumrah doesn't really take too many risks... And Bumrah is bowling well-it's something that we have been working, we have tried to have some variations which is something he has been trying too, they are batting well I cannot point and say that it is why he is not taking wickets-but as a unit, as a side, it’s the penetration that is missing, on different surfaces and that is something which we need to work out and see what is we have to do."
Mumbai Indians now play Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Monday which is a very important game.
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