The future of Hardik Pandya’s captaincy looks bleak.Image Credit source: PTI
Everyone was shocked when Mumbai Indians suddenly traded Hardik Pandya back from Gujarat Titans after IPL 2023. This was the most sensational trade in IPL history, in which Hardik returned to Mumbai only after 2 seasons. But then Mumbai Indians took an even more shocking decision and made Hardik the captain by removing Rohit Sharma. There was a lot of uproar over this, but at that time Hardik and the team management would hardly have thought that within 3 years, Hardik would be in danger of being out of the team.
Looking at the condition of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, questions have been raised on Hardik Pandya’s future in the team. Under the captaincy of Hardik, Gujarat had won the title in the very first season and in the next season the team lost in the final. In such a situation, Mumbai had made him the captain with great expectations but this decision could not bring success, rather the team is going through the worst phase in its 19 year history.
This season, under the captaincy of Hardik, Mumbai has played 8 matches, out of which the team lost 6 and won only 2. In this too, the most worrying thing has been the performance of Mumbai Indians at their home ground Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai has lost 4 consecutive matches here under the captaincy of Hardik. When the team had lost 7 out of 9 matches, then suddenly he was out of the match against Lucknow Super Giants due to back stiffness. This was a bit shocking for everyone. But coincidentally, Mumbai won in this match at Wankhede itself.
This story is not just about this season, but Hardik’s first season as captain was also similar. Then in the 2024 season, Mumbai stood at 10th i.e. last position after losing 10 out of 14 matches. However, the team made a comeback in the next season and made it to the playoffs. This season, better performance was expected from Mumbai with the same strong team but it could not happen and now Hardik’s future looks bleak in this team.
Obviously, in this situation it is natural to raise questions whether Hardik’s journey with Mumbai will end in this season itself? Or would the management want to give him one last chance by making him captain in the next season also? If it is assumed that Hardik leaves Mumbai after this season, then in which team will he get the best opportunity as captain? The answer is Kolkata Knight Riders.
In fact, Hardik and Kolkata can prove to be a good match for each other. Kolkata won the IPL title in 2024 under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer. But then their paths parted ways. In such a situation, KKR has been playing under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane for 2 consecutive seasons, who was not even bought in the initial round of the auction. Also, the team’s performance is not good under his captaincy. In such a situation, Hardik and Kolkata can help each other on this front.
This pair can also be effective because after the retirement of Andre Russell, Kolkata needs a good all-rounder and if he is an Indian then it is a different matter. Hardik can play this role along with captaincy. Not only this, KKR’s dressing room will be completely different as compared to Mumbai Indians, where they will not have to captain the two Indian captains who have won the T20 World Cup and this can be very important. When Hardik won the title with Gujarat in 2022, there were not many big stars in that team and Hardik can do wonders in KKR with the same formula.
