Hardik Pandya is struggling to find his footing as captain of Mumbai Indians, and Thursday night’s heavy defeat has only sharpened the scrutiny. After their fifth loss in seven matches—tumbling to Chennai Super Kings by 103 runs—they are now staring at a near-impossible route to the play-offs. Chasing 208, MI were restricted to 104 all out.
The margin was not just damaging to their campaign, it also became the biggest defeat by runs in IPL history. The scale of the collapse means the questions around leadership and execution won’t be easy to silence, especially when the skipper himself appears unsure about what needs changing.
Quick facts
- MI suffered their fifth defeat in seven matches with a 103-run loss to CSK.
- Chasing 208, Mumbai were all out for 104.
- The 103-run defeat is the biggest by runs in IPL history.
- Hardik Pandya’s IPL captaincy record with MI has not met expectations in 2024–25.
- Rohit Sharma has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury.
- Key MI numbers cited: Pandya 97 runs in six games (avg 19.40) and 3 wickets with an economy of 12.67; Suryakumar Yadav 157 runs in seven games (avg 22.43) with one fifty.
To understand why this season feels so bleak for MI, it helps to look at the contrast. Pandya was the captain who guided Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut campaign in 2022. The very next year, he led them to another final, showing what he could deliver with a functioning unit behind him.
Since moving to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 season, though, he has looked like a diminished version of the player who powered GT’s rise. Mumbai’s first year under him ended with the team finishing last, and while they improved enough to reach the play-offs the following season, that is still not the standard expected from a franchise that has won the IPL five times.
Where the captaincy and performance have gone wrong
So far, MI have drifted back toward the problems of 2024, and Pandya’s personal output has been a major part of the narrative. With the bat and ball, his returns have been thin: 97 runs from six matches at an average of 19.40, along with just three wickets at an economy rate of 12.67. Those figures don’t suggest a player who is consistently turning games, regardless of the role he is asked to play.
On top of the numbers, his post-match body language and explanations have been criticised as well. After Mumbai were beaten by Punjab Kings a few days earlier, he sounded as though he was still searching for answers, saying he didn’t have much to offer at that moment and that the team needed to go back to the drawing board to identify where they were falling short—whether it was individuals, the group, or planning.
He added that they would need to decide whether to make difficult calls or keep going while hoping things turn around. That sort of uncertainty doesn’t sit comfortably with fans when a captain is expected to provide clarity, even if results are going against them.
There is also the issue of collective responsibility. Even though MI managed to crush Gujarat Titans in their match after the PBKS defeat, the difference in performance hasn’t fully masked the larger concern. The win was driven heavily by Tilak Varma’s standout display rather than a broad team effort.
Thursday night followed a familiar pattern—Pandya speaking in a way that will likely frustrate supporters again. After the CSK loss, he suggested the team would revisit the same discussion, take steps forward, and figure out what it needs to do, insisting they had a couple of days to assess what they could do best.
Injuries and underperformance add pressure
The captaincy problems are not happening in isolation. The absence of Rohit Sharma has made things tougher, too. Rohit has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, and the missing presence of a player of his importance naturally weighs on any side’s structure and confidence.
Suryakumar Yadav has also been a disappointment in the run of matches referenced, scoring 157 runs in seven games at an average of 22.43, with only one fifty. As a senior figure, he has not been able to take enough pressure off Pandya, especially given that his batting has not looked like the complete, 360-degree version fans expect from him.
Ryan Rickelton, the South African import, has appeared to lose momentum as well. Jasprit Bumrah—usually the anchor—has been another let-down in these games, taking just two wickets across seven matches and finishing with an average of 105. Put together, those performances have left MI’s overall campaign looking like it is in deep trouble.
While cricket can always produce surprises and a turnaround is theoretically possible, the logic at this stage points toward their season being close to over. The bigger question is how long the franchise will continue backing Pandya under mounting pressure.
That decision could also be shaped by the context around his earlier appointment as captain. When he returned to lead the side, he faced significant backlash, with the belief that he had influenced the franchise’s decision to remove Rohit from captaincy. He was booed by MI fans on several occasions, and the current slump ensures that anger is far from fading.
Does MI have another lifeline?
Last season, Pandya survived largely because of the improvement the team showed. This time, however, MI can’t afford to drift back to square one. The franchise may feel that only a major, sustained recovery could justify keeping him in the role, and for now the performances suggest that such a rescue may be difficult to engineer quickly.
For MI supporters, the fear is simple: Pandya may not get another chance to prove the doubts wrong.
