Hardik Pandya was ready to leave Mumbai Indians after their terrible performance in the 2026 IPL. Apparently, he told the franchise about his decision after the team was knocked out of the playoff race, citing mental pressure and the team’s string of losses.
Bengaluru: The 2026 Indian Premier League has been a total nightmare for the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians. The team, led by Hardik Pandya, finished 9th after winning just 4 of their 14 league matches and losing 10. Now, a shocking report doing the rounds on social media claims that captain Hardik Pandya wanted to quit the team right in the middle of the 19th season of the IPL. The reason behind this sudden move has also come out.
Hardik Pandya was ready for a big decision!
According to a PTI media report, Hardik Pandya was preparing to leave Mumbai Indians. It’s said that a conversation took place between Pandya and the MI franchise right after the team was officially knocked out of the playoff race. The report claims that Hardik voluntarily decided to walk away from the team.
So, why did Hardik want to leave mid-season?
Hardik Pandya was reportedly very disappointed with the team’s disastrous performance in the 19th IPL season under his captaincy. On top of that, he was under a lot of mental pressure due to his own poor form and the team’s struggles. This tension was apparently visible in the dressing room too. He even had a back pain issue during the middle of the season. According to PTI sources, ‘Hardik was under immense mental stress. As soon as Mumbai Indians were out of the playoff race, he informed the franchise that he would be leaving the Mumbai Indians team next season.’
As captain, Hardik Pandya failed to meet Mumbai’s expectations:
In 2022, in his first stint as captain, Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to a championship victory. The very next year, he took Gujarat Titans to the IPL final again under his leadership. Seeing this, the Mumbai Indians franchise made a huge call: they removed Rohit Sharma, the captain who had won them five trophies, and brought in Hardik Pandya to lead the side. That’s when the downfall for Mumbai Indians began. In 2024, Mumbai Indians won only 4 matches and finished at the bottom of the points table. Even last season, MI made it to the playoffs but had to settle for fourth place. Now, with Pandya as captain again, the team has crashed out in the league stage. It seems the franchise’s big bet on Pandya has completely backfired.