A week before the start of the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians’ senior trio of Rohit Sharma, Yadav and Hardik Pandya sent a message to their fans.
They were part of an MI’s event on Saturday (March 21). During the event, they declared that Mumbai Indians are coming for their sixth IPL title. MI haven’t won an IPL title since IPL 2020. The Mumbai-based franchise won its maiden IPL title under Rohit’s leadership in 2013. Rohit, who took over the job in the middle of the season, did the unthinkable by leading MI to their first title win.
Rohit-led MI emulated their heroics in 2015 and once again defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final. In 2017, Rohit-led MI defeated Rising Pune Supergiant in a nail-biting final.
MI’s below-par performances over the next three seasons saw the management to make a big call and they brought back Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) via trade and appointed him their new captain. Rohit was sacked from captaincy despite being India’s all-format captain in 2023. Rohit, who played IPL 2024 under Pandya, captained India to a title win in the 2024 T20 World Cup.MI’s performance under Hardik Pandya
Pandya enjoyed huge success as GT’s captain and propelled them to a title win in their debut season. GT lost the IPL 2023 final against CSK. Pandya failed to emulate his heroics at MI and the five-time IPL Champions crashed out of the league stage. They only managed 4 wins and finished last in the points table.
MI improved their performance in IPL 2025 and qualified for the playoffs. MI defeated Gujarat Titans in the eliminator. However, they suffered a defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the second qualifier. PBKS finished as IPL 2025’s runners-up. Pandya has his task cut out in IPL 2026 as he will be leading the side that includes Suryakumar, who captained India to a title win in the 2026 World Cup.