{"id":7119,"date":"2026-05-03T07:52:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T07:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss"},"modified":"2026-05-03T07:52:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T07:52:35","slug":"hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","title":{"rendered":"Hardik Pandya Faces Captaincy Warning as MI Near Elimination After CSK Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians\u2019 IPL woes have continued without any clear sign of relief. The five-time champions suffered a seventh defeat of IPL 2026 on Saturday, losing to arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings and sliding to the edge of elimination. MI managed 159\/7 after batting first, with Naman Dhir\u2019s half-century standing out as their main source of runs. In reply, CSK chased the target with ease\u2014reaching it with 11 balls remaining and eight wickets in hand\u2014delivering a timely recovery in their season.<\/p>\n

Srikkanth\u2019s sharp criticism after MI\u2019s loss<\/h2>\n

Minutes after the defeat, former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth launched a pointed attack on Hardik Pandya, questioning his captaincy and suggesting that he avoided taking responsibility during periods when the team most needed direction.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Srikkanth questioned Hardik\u2019s bowling choices in the powerplay, saying the captain chose not to bowl himself and instead handed the overs to Krish Bhagat.<\/li>\n
  2. He argued that Bhagat has been under heavy pressure from opponents, while Hardik\u2019s reluctance to bowl in the early overs left MI exposed when CSK were looking to build momentum.<\/li>\n
  3. On his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said: \u201cHardik Pandya can\u2019t lay bat on ball, and with the ball also, he is scared. He gives Krish Bhagat the ball in the powerplay instead of bowling himself. Teams are smashing Bhagat, yet Hardik is scared to bowl in the powerplay.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. He added that MI\u2019s batting and bowling decision-making lacked clarity in crucial phases of the match, stressing that as captain Hardik should have set the right tone in the middle and death overs.<\/li>\n
  5. Srikkanth further remarked: \u201cHardik Pandya is playing terribly. You are playing as the captain. They had no clue in the middle and end overs. What was Hardik Pandya even trying to do? It was hard to understand. Hereafter, no one will feed balls on a length for Hardik. They\u2019ll only bowl into the body and tuck him up. Teams are completely locking him up.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tilak Varma\u2019s form comes under fire<\/h2>\n

    Srikkanth also took aim at Mumbai\u2019s batting backing Tilak Varma, stating that the batter has struggled for runs throughout the season except for a solitary century.<\/p>\n

    He said: \u201cTilak Varma then ate ball after ball and that\u2019s where the pressure started. He is playing so ordinarily. Barring that one century, he has struggled big time this season. One sunny day doesn\u2019t make a summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Srikkanth went on to argue that MI should consider making changes, adding: \u201cLikewise, just one good knock won\u2019t do. He should be dropped. He is batting horribly. They must bring some new batter instead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians\u2019 IPL woes have continued without any clear sign of relief. The five-time champions suffered a seventh defeat of IPL 2026…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\nMI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"748\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Hardik Pandya Faces Captaincy Warning as MI Near Elimination After CSK Loss\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\"},\"wordCount\":448,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\",\"name\":\"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":748},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hardik Pandya Faces Captaincy Warning as MI Near Elimination After CSK Loss\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss","description":"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss","og_description":"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":748,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Hardik Pandya Faces Captaincy Warning as MI Near Elimination After CSK Loss","datePublished":"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss"},"wordCount":448,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss","name":"MI vs CSK: Hardik Pandya Warning After IPL 2026 Loss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-03T07:52:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"MI\u2019s IPL 2026 slide deepens after CSK win: Hardik Pandya faces captaincy pressure as Mumbai teeters on the brink of elimination.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hardik-pandya-labelled-quot-scared-af90.webp","width":1200,"height":748},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hardik-pandya-faces-captaincy-warning-as-mi-near-elimination-after-csk-loss#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hardik Pandya Faces Captaincy Warning as MI Near Elimination After CSK Loss"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}