Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has found himself at the centre of growing criticism after a rough start to the IPL 2026 campaign. The five-time champions have managed only a single win from their first five matches, leaving them sitting second from the bottom of the points table. Their latest setback came on Thursday, when they were outplayed at home by Shreyas Iyer\u2019s Punjab Kings (PBKS), a result that extended MI\u2019s slide to a fourth defeat of the season. MI\u2019s only victory so far this term arrived against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.<\/p>\n
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has been particularly forthright in his assessment of Hardik\u2019s captaincy, suggesting that the problems have persisted since he took over the role. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Tiwary argued that leadership cannot be viewed only through the lens of one season\u2019s outcomes. He pointed out that struggles often have deeper causes and should be examined beyond the immediate lack of results. Tiwary also referenced the period when Rohit Sharma was steering the franchise, saying Rohit\u2019s contributions from 2015 to 2023 were tied to MI\u2019s trophy-rich run.<\/p>\n
Tiwary then called for Hardik to step away from the captaincy and hand the responsibility back to Rohit. He stressed that the team\u2019s recent seasons have brought no silverware and suggested that the current approach is not delivering what is needed. In his view, the captaincy has not been proactive enough, and he felt the franchise made an error when Rohit was removed from the leadership position. Tiwary noted that between 2013 and 2023, Rohit had led MI to five titles, underscoring how significant leadership continuity has been for the franchise.<\/p>\n
Alongside the leadership debate, Tiwary also criticised Hardik\u2019s tactical decisions in the loss to PBKS. He focused first on Hardik\u2019s batting promotion during the chase, arguing that the captain\u2019s decision to move himself up the order came at the cost of momentum and strike rotation for the rest of the lineup. Tiwary highlighted that Hardik made 14 runs off 12 balls, while Sherfane Rutherford faced only five deliveries. In Tiwary\u2019s opinion, if Rutherford had been given a larger share of balls, the right-hander could have turned the contest with additional big hits, potentially swinging the pressure back in MI\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n
Tiwary further questioned the bowling plan, specifically the choice to open the attack with Deepak Chahar despite the pacer\u2019s recent struggles. He argued that if the plan is to work through Jasprit Bumrah early, it does not make sense to give Bumrah the second over while the first over lacks the same impact. Tiwary\u2019s view was blunt: Deepak Chahar, in the current phase, is not able to generate the swing needed to set up the innings from the outset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has found himself at the centre of growing criticism after a rough start to the IPL 2026 campaign. The five-time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Hardik Pandya Criticism as MI Struggles","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026: Hardik Pandya faces backlash as Mumbai Indians slump\u2014one win in five matches and a home loss to PBKS leaves MI near bottom.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n