After three IPL campaigns, Mumbai Indians’ call to shift the captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya appears to have backfired. Under Hardik’s leadership, MI finished bottom of the table in IPL 2024, and the franchise now faces mounting pressure heading into IPL 2026 with another disappointing slide a real possibility.
Quick facts
- Manoj Tiwary believes Rohit Sharma has watched MI’s “heritage” erode over the last three years.
- Tiwary wants MI to return captaincy to Rohit next season.
- Tiwary expects Mumbai Indians to have a new captain in 2027, with Suryakumar Yadav a likely option.
- Tiwary also mentioned Jasprit Bumrah as an alternative but suggested MI should prefer Suryakumar due to injury risk for a fast bowler.
- Murali Kartik argued MI’s choice of Hardik over retained stars was always likely to upset the dressing room.
- Kartik highlighted MI’s retained players as Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary said Rohit has seen his “empire” crumble in plain sight during the past three years. He pointed to how the captain’s body language, including what can be read from his reactions in the dugout, reflects the frustration of watching the setup change around him.
Tiwary added that Rohit would have handled certain calls differently if he had remained in charge. In his view, the captaincy transition has left Rohit feeling that key decisions weren’t aligned with what he would have done, while the team’s overall standing has suffered as a result.
Looking ahead, Tiwary insisted he is confident that Mumbai will appoint a new captain in 2027. He believes Suryakumar Yadav is the most likely candidate to lead the side, while still acknowledging that Jasprit Bumrah could be considered as well.
However, Tiwary argued that MI should lean toward Suryakumar rather than Bumrah because the fast-bowling workload can bring sudden injury concerns. With that in mind, he suggested the franchise would be better served by selecting Suryakumar for continuity and availability.
Despite his prediction about a change in 2027, Tiwary made his preference clear: he wants Rohit to be brought back to the role. He believes a return to the helm would allow Rohit to rebuild the team and restore some of the respect he feels has been lost over recent seasons.
Dressing-room reaction
Murali Kartik weighed in with a sharper critique of the original captaincy strategy. He said MI’s decision to install Hardik as captain instead of backing their retained core—Rohit, Suryakumar and Bumrah—was not the kind of move that would sit comfortably with the group.
Kartik underlined the retention details, noting that Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav were the three players kept by MI. He then questioned the logic of bringing in an outsider to take over leadership when those retained stars were already central to the team’s identity.
In Kartik’s assessment, such a shift was bound to disrupt the atmosphere, leaving players naturally unsettled regardless of the surrounding circumstances. His argument framed the captaincy call not just as a tactical adjustment, but as an emotional and team-dynamics decision that could easily fracture trust.
