Quirky Fact 1: For 13 consecutive seasons, between 2013 and 2025, Mumbai Indians lost their opening game of every single Indian Premier League campaign.
Quirky Fact 2: Despite that, they embarked on a spectacular title-winning run, lifting the trophy a whopping five times in eight years, between 2013 and 2020.
Quirky Fact 3: Even though he led the team to Qualifier 2 in the 2023 season, where Mumbai lost to Gujarat Titans, Rohit Sharma was stripped of the captaincy despite the fact that he was India’s all-format skipper at the time.
The last of these developments was influenced by the Mumbai leadership group’s ‘vision’ for the future, a vision that entailed getting prodigal son Hardik Pandya back from Gujarat Titans, where the Baroda all-rounder had enjoyed grand success as the leader.
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On the Titans’ IPL debut, in 2022, Pandya masterminded a wonderful run culminating in their coronation as champions. Twelve months later, Gujarat were back in the final against Chennai Super Kings, lording the exchanges until Ravindra Jadeja smacked a six and a four off the last two deliveries of the tournament, from Mohit Sharma, to muscle his side to a record-equalling fifth title.
Why MI were tempted to get Pandya
One could see why Mumbai wanted Pandya back. The all-rounder was only 30 and perceived as the future, while Rohit was 37, with his best years seen as behind him. Mumbai were desirous of building a long-term winning combination, and a thriving brand, around the flamboyant Pandya.
One could see why Pandya wanted to get back to Mumbai. He had established his leadership credentials, he was a step away from becoming India’s T20I skipper (he was Rohit’s deputy at the time, and led the national side when the former was on a long 20-over international sabbatical between November 2022 and January 2024) and Mumbai was where his career took shape, back in 2015. And, after all, it was Mumbai Indians, a flagship franchise, driven by the rich and the powerful.
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The logic was unmistakable, but the manner in which the transition was handled left a lot to be desired. Mark Boucher, the former South African stumper, was roped in as the coach for the 2024 season, ostensibly tasked with overseeing the leadership change which was marked by intrigue and an uncharacteristically distinct lack of class and grace. That Boucher was dumped after that one misadventure of a season lent further muscle to the theory that he was made a ‘scapegoat’ of sorts, though his cause wasn’t helped by Mumbai propping up the foot of the table in Pandya’s debut as captain, as they mustered a mere four wins from 14 matches.
The leadership change, as much as the manner in which it was accomplished with Rohit relegated to a fringe figure despite his standing as a batter and a wonderful man-manager and tactician, incensed the Mumbai fans to such an extent that even at the Wankhede Stadium, their heaving home base, Pandya was roundly booed every single match. In some ways, it was hard not to feel for him; in other ways, it was an organic development as the backers of the franchise made it clear where their loyalties lay.
Three seasons, little improvement
It’s now three seasons of the Pandya era and Mumbai Indians are clearly on a hiding to nothing. Last in 2024 and fourth last season in the league table (they lost Qualifier 2 to Punjab Kings), Mumbai must have felt they were on to a good thing when, after eons, they won their opening fixture in grand style on March 29. Asked to mount a record chase after Kolkata Knight Riders amassed 220 at the Wankhede, Mumbai breezed home by six wickets with five deliveries to spare on the back of a 148-run opening stand between Rohit and Ryan Rickelton. The possibilities seemed endless; the former skipper was none the worse for two and a half months of no competitive cricket, a development perhaps as significant as the victory itself.
And yet here we are, some six weeks later, with Mumbai knocked out of contention following a last-ball heartbreak against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday night. It was a match that perfectly summed up their season; they were good in parts, like the Curate’s Egg, but when push came to shove, they were found wanting. Maybe only just, but that was enough to signal their elimination.
Pandya was missing in action, still to recover from the hamstring injury that has now compelled him to miss two games in a row. Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I World Cup-winning captain, was missing in action as a batter, courting his umpteenth failure after falling for a golden duck. Jasprit Bumrah, the best bowler in the world, continued his barren run – the seventh time this season that he had gone wicketless – and there were fumbles and mistakes and errors of judgements galore that all translated to an eighth loss in 11 outings and an early ticket home.
Time for a reset
If Mumbai are brutally honest to themselves – and one hopes they are, for their own sake – they will realise that it is time for a systemic reset. One would imagine that it should start from the very top, which will encompass the leadership group of Pandya, the captain, and Mahela Jayawardene, the head coach. But dumping Pandya as skipper would mean a tacit acknowledgement that roping him in from Gujarat was an error in judgement, and one isn’t sure if that’s a tack which will appeal to the larger management structure.
Pandya has failed to inspire with either words or deeds, and that’s said without bias or malice. Just 146 runs from eight innings (highest 40, strike-rate 136.44) and four wickets at an economy of 11.90 make him one of the least productive captains of the season, potentially alongside the equally misfiring Rishabh Pant, whose Lucknow Super Giants too are now officially out of the playoff mix. If he weren’t the captain, Pandya would have been warming the bench, one suspects.
Of course, it hasn’t helped that Rohit missed five matches through injury, that Bumrah doesn’t know where his next wicket will come from, that Trent Boult has lost bite and efficacy, that Suryakumar is in the middle of an extended horror run. But that’s where man-management and leadership comes into the picture, doesn’t it, when there is a crisis to overcome, a ‘situation’ to handle? Pandya hasn’t quite measured up to scratch, let’s not mince words.
Lethargic in the field and almost each man to himself, Mumbai are the classic example of the dichotomy between ability and performance. With the side they have, they should be strutting every arena like proud peacocks; instead, they are merely going through the motions, with finger-pointing and apportioning of blame all too evident even from the selective visuals on television.
Tilak the future?
Perhaps it won’t be the worst idea to delegate greater responsibility to Tilak Varma, the young Hyderabadi who is as much a Mumbai Indians product as anyone else. It was here that he made his debut in 2022; he has been a consistent performer in all five seasons, is only 23 and has a long, distinguished career ahead of him. He is certainly a promising horse to back. Captaincy might be a couple of years coming, but to assign him a more significant role, both with the bat and in a decision-making capacity, is something Mumbai would be well advised to consider.
There needs to be a shake-up in the backroom establishment too. Long stints breed comfort and stagnation; when things are going well, continuity becomes a virtue but when they aren’t, constancy can be a millstone. That can manifest itself in shying away from tough decisions; it can translate to ‘softness’ and a buddy system that is inherently self-defeating. Mumbai are a proud franchise not used to such consistent inconsistencies as seen in the last few seasons. If they are serious about halting their alarming downslide, they must crack the whip and read the riot act, pronto, with an eye on 2027 and beyond. Whether that entails starting at the top is the million-dollar question they must first answer.
