Just over two weeks ago, reports surfaced that as IPL 2026 moves toward its conclusion, a few captains might be asked to step aside at the end of the season. Notably, Hardik Pandya was not named in that early discussion, even though the Mumbai Indians’ season had already taken a damaging turn soon after they fell out of the playoff hunt. Still, the absence of a mention does not automatically translate into safety, and Kieron Pollard’s remarks after Sunday’s final league outing made it clear that Mumbai’s skipper is very much part of the internal conversation following another disappointing campaign.
Sunday’s defeat at the Wankhede Stadium was a heavy one: Mumbai lost by 30 runs to the Rajasthan Royals, marking their tenth loss of the season. The result left the five-time champions finishing ninth in the points table, just above the Lucknow Super Giants. Lucknow, despite also managing only four wins from 14 league matches, ended higher thanks to a better net run rate.
For Mumbai, the setback carried added weight because it was the second occasion under Hardik’s captaincy when they failed to reach the playoffs. After finishing at the bottom in 2024, they had shown a brief turnaround in 2025 by making it to Qualifier 2, but the 2026 league phase ultimately ended without a ticket to the knockout rounds.
Speaking to reporters after Mumbai’s last game of the season, Pollard did not soften his message. He acknowledged that Hardik’s time leading the side “has not gone as well” as either he or the franchise would have wanted, while also stressing that Mumbai’s management tried to provide the environment and support they believed would help the skipper succeed.
“From a leadership perspective on Hardik, yes, it has not gone as well as he would have wanted as an individual,” Pollard said. “It might not have gone the way we as a management group would have wanted either. But one thing you should know is that we tried everything possible to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise and succeed.”
Even as Pollard pointed to the outcome of the captaincy phase, he resisted the idea that the blame could be pinned on leadership alone. In his view, a season’s failure cannot be reduced to one role, particularly when the team has experienced both highs and lows across the campaign.
“No one is going to sit here and point fingers or place blame. When you lose, especially, you have to look at it collectively. You win some, you lose some. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t question the effort,” Pollard said.
Pollard also made it clear that the skipper did not lack intent, adding that the group would now need time to reflect and decide how to move forward. “He (Pandya) was trying; we all were trying, and it just didn’t work out for us. You sit down, you talk, and you figure out what is best moving forward. You never know what is going to happen. Right now, we just need time to lick our wounds and hopefully come back stronger over the next 12 months,” he added.
Pollard further suggested that Mumbai will examine certain elements internally, but he insisted the franchise will not rush into sweeping changes before taking the right time to evaluate what exactly went wrong. When asked whether the squad needed a major reboot, given the number of senior players, Pollard pushed back against immediate speculation and urged a calmer approach.
“Right now is not the time or place to talk about that,” he said. “All these decisions can become emotional if taken immediately. Everyone needs time and space to sit down, reflect properly and fairly assess where things actually went wrong for us. That is where better decision-making comes from. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this or that, it would be irresponsible from a management perspective,” he concluded.
