Hardik Pandya is set to lose the captaincy role at Mumbai Indians following another bad season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Under Pandya, MI won just four games out of 14 and finished ninth on the points table. In 2024, when Pandya became the MI captain for the first time after a move away from Gujarat Titans, they had finished last. Last season, they did qualify for the playoffs, but for a successful team like MI that’s not something the owners or fans set much store by.
“There were enough signs during the season that the team management wasn’t keen to retain him as captain. There is a clear buzz in the camp,” a source told the Indian Express. According to them, as many as three sources confirmed to them that the all-rounder was going to lose his leadership role.
Turns out the players didn’t follow the instructions from the coaching staff. “The coaching staff was very clear in their message to the senior players that wherever they play, they need to be coachable. There were many instances where the coaching staff recommended something which was backed by data, but players didn’t follow it,” said a source.
Will he retain his place in the team?
In what could be a bigger bombshell, Pandya may not just lose his captaincy; he may also lose a place in the side, which means he will have to find himself a new team. We will hear more on this in the coming days.
“There will be serious introspection and discussion in the coming days. Every option would be weighed. Many questions need to be addressed. Going ahead, can Hardik be the captain? Does he stay in the team just as a player?” according to a Mumbai Indians old-timer.
This IPL season, the better teams really made the most of the Powerplay. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad particularly did well with the bat in those six overs. MI, on the other hand, struggled in that period for a large part of their campaign.
“We haven’t been able to use the Powerplay like some of the more successful teams this IPL. We haven’t moved with the times,” said another source.
Anyway, Pandya wasn’t welcomed back to MI in 2024. Spectators booed him many times that season, for they believed he conspired to remove the fan-favourite Rohit Sharma from the captaincy role.
However, later that year, when he played an important role in India’s T20 World Cup win, things got a little better for him. This season, Pandya looked indecisive and appeared to give up quite early.
His own performance wasn’t inspiring either. In 10 matches, he scored 206 runs at an average of 22.89 and a strike rate of 138.26. With the ball things were worse. He bowled around 23 overs in all and took just four wickets at an economy rate of 11.43.
