NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced a strong defence of Hardik Pandya, arguing that it is not right to pin Mumbai Indians\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t 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,\u201d Ashwin said.<\/p>\n
The former India spinner pointed to Hardik\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was there at Gujarat Titans. Had two fabulous seasons. So clearly, as a leader, he did something right there,\u201d Ashwin added.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s achievements and the level of expectation attached to a captain of that stature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five titles in the IPL. He\u2019s won a T20 World Cup. You\u2019ve got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive social media these days,\u201d Ashwin said.<\/p>\n
Beyond leadership, Ashwin addressed Hardik\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith his batting, I found something quite interesting and strange \u2014 how late he\u2019s been on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We wouldn\u2019t know. But he\u2019s been late on hard-length deliveries,\u201d Ashwin remarked.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHardik is a once-in-a-generation player. You don\u2019t find such players. If India finds itself in a certain T20 mastery now, Hardik\u2019s been a linchpin in that,\u201d Ashwin concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced a strong defence of Hardik Pandya, arguing that it is not right to pin Mumbai Indians\u2019 rough IPL 2026…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ashwin Defends Hardik Pandya as MI IPL 2026 Struggles","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ashwin defends Hardik Pandya amid MI\u2019s IPL 2026 struggles, saying blame can\u2019t rest on the captain alone as Mumbai chase form and playoffs.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n