Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday urged the Mumbai Indians not to take any hasty decision in the aftermath of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, where the five-time champions finished ninth in the points table. Ever since the franchise crashed out of the playoff race, several reports have been doing the rounds, stating that Hardik Pandya, the skipper, is all set to be sacked as the captain, and the all-rounder is most likely on his way out.
Hardik’s move from the Gujarat Titans to the Mumbai Indians hasn’t gone according to plan, with the franchise finishing in the bottom half of the table on two occasions (2024 and 2026). Last year, the team reached Qualifier 2 but came up short against the Punjab Kings.
The all-rounder’s performance with the bat and ball wasn’t that great either, and he even missed quite a few matches due to a back spasm. Amid all the negative chatter about the franchise, Gavaskar urged the Mumbai Indians’ think tank to take a breather and regroup after a few weeks.
“Nothing has been decided. Everybody in that camp needs to take a little step back for a few days. Maybe a fortnight. Maybe a month or even longer, and then regroup. They should then talk to people and talk to Hardik and find out what the next step is,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“You don’t want to take steps now in the aftermath of a rock-hard season, so obviously the best way forward is just to take a step backwards, maybe three weeks or four weeks. Let everything cool down. You’ll get a better perspective after that,” he added.
How did Mumbai perform?
The Mumbai Indians won just 4 of 14 matches in the IPL 2026 season, finishing ninth in the points table. Earlier, an Indian Express report claimed that Hardik is all set to be sacked as the skipper.
Another PTI report claimed that Hardik informed the franchise of his desire to leave midway through the IPL 2026 season. The report further stated that all the senior members of the group weren’t on the same page, and the all-rounder wasn’t happy with the seniors’ lack of 100 per cent commitment to the franchise during his tenure.
When Hardik missed a few matches for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026 season, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah led the franchise in his absence.
Speaking of Hardik, he returned with four wickets and 206 runs with the bat in the 10 matches he featured in for the franchise in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament.
