The Indian Premier League remains the biggest stage in T20 franchise cricket, bringing with it immense responsibility for captains to lead their teams both on and off the field. With every decision scrutinised, leading an IPL side is as much about tactical awareness as it is about handling pressure on this demanding stage.
Hardik Pandya, despite his heroics in India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign, has come under intense scrutiny for his on-field decisions as captain of Mumbai Indians. The five-time champions, after a promising start to the campaign, have struggled since and now sit eighth on the table after four matches. Their latest thumping defeat came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru while chasing 241 at the Wankhede Stadium, further intensifying criticism around Hardik’s captaincy.
Former India batter Sadagoppan Ramesh delivered a sharp assessment, blaming Hardik’s tactics as a primary reason for Mumbai’s struggles this season.
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“MI’s only issue is Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. Hardik, the player, is at the upper echelon but remains mediocre as captain. He made a huge error by using two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay. Yes, the other bowlers were getting smashed, so Hardik was desperate. But Bumrah bowled his second over in the sixth over of the innings and came back only in the 17th over. It means your best bowler wasn’t in the contest for 60 deliveries,” Ramesh said.
The tactical error highlighted by Ramesh appears valid, as Jasprit Bumrah was the most economical bowler for Mumbai on the day, conceding at 8.75 despite going wicketless. RCB’s batters significantly accelerated after the seventh over, scoring roughly 95 runs until the 15th, a phase that coincided with Bumrah’s absence from the attack.
Ramesh also questioned the use of spin from both ends during crucial phases of the innings.
“The other big mistake Hardik made was bowling spinners at both ends in the seventh and eighth overs. Bowling spin at both ends is a cardinal sin at the Wankhede Stadium. He also gave Markande an over against Rajat Patidar, who is already an excellent player and turns into a beast against spin. How will you bowl a spinner against Patidar?” he added.
The night turned out expensive for both spinners, Mitchell Santner and Mayank Markande, as they were taken apart by Rajat Patidar, who scored 53 off just 20 balls.
Beyond tactics, Ramesh did not hold back in his assessment of Hardik’s leadership, pointing to visible uncertainty in decision-making while leading an experienced group that includes players like Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.
“Hardik Pandya seems to be in a confused state when captaining. He bowled a high full toss to Tim David and took a review. Even Suryakumar Yadav was shocked that he took the review. Then Hardik tried to reverse his decision, but it had already gone up. It is also clearly visible that Rohit Sharma disagrees with many of the decisions Hardik makes,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh further added, “Even if MI had won this match, the captaincy errors were glaring enough. They can finish in the top four and win the title only if these are corrected.”
With a star-studded squad at his disposal, the spotlight remains firmly on Hardik, not just for his performances, but for how he leads Mumbai Indians through this challenging phase, with a clash against Punjab Kings, led by Shreyas Iyer, up next.
