NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced a strong defence of Hardik Pandya, arguing that it is not right to pin Mumbai Indians’ rough IPL 2026 outing entirely on the captain. MI, historically one of the most decorated franchises in the league, were eliminated from playoff contention for only the second time in IPL history. Their campaign has brought just four wins from 12 matches. With Hardik also struggling to make an impact with both bat and ball, questions about his leadership have grown louder. Ashwin, though, believes the criticism is aimed in the wrong direction.
“I wouldn’t review his captaincy this year at all. Honestly, when you have seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is quite unfair. Nobody has turned up. The team has failed to turn up,” Ashwin said.
‘You’re asking him to do too much’
The former India spinner pointed to Hardik’s record when he captained Gujarat Titans, noting that his leadership there delivered major results. In two seasons, he guided the side to a championship win and a runners-up finish, which Ashwin presented as evidence that Hardik has the captaincy credentials.
“He was there at Gujarat Titans. Had two fabulous seasons. So clearly, as a leader, he did something right there,” Ashwin added.
Ashwin also cautioned that stepping into the Mumbai Indians role after replacing Rohit Sharma in 2024 was always going to be a difficult transition. He highlighted the weight of Rohit’s achievements and the level of expectation attached to a captain of that stature.
“It’s not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five titles in the IPL. He’s won a T20 World Cup. You’ve got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive social media these days,” Ashwin said.
Concern over Hardik’s batting form
Beyond leadership, Ashwin addressed Hardik’s batting struggles, suggesting the pattern of his dismissals and strike timing could indicate a physical factor rather than a pure skill issue. Ashwin said Hardik has appeared unusually late to deliveries of the hard length.
“With his batting, I found something quite interesting and strange — how late he’s been on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We wouldn’t know. But he’s been late on hard-length deliveries,” Ashwin remarked.
Hardik has managed 146 runs across eight innings in the season so far, and he has taken four wickets while conceding at an economy rate of 11.90. He also missed three matches due to a reported back problem.
Even with the form concerns, Ashwin insisted that Hardik remains a key asset for India in T20 cricket and for MI when he is fully fit and firing.
“Hardik is a once-in-a-generation player. You don’t find such players. If India finds itself in a certain T20 mastery now, Hardik’s been a linchpin in that,” Ashwin concluded.
