It is not easy to fill the boots of Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians Captain. He has a legacy that has an aura, and when Hardik Pandya took the captaincy from him in 2024, Hardik too came from a great record from the GT, but that didn’t go well in the MI camp. MI, having lost their first four matches of the first five, Hardik’s captaincy is under scrutiny. Critics and cynics haven’t hesitated to dissect his decisions in the field for a moment, and as fans constantly keep on comparing him with Rohit Sharma.

Lots of talks on the fact as to why MI’s star bowler Jasprit Bumrah was not given the ball in the first over. Bumrah often came as the first change or bowled the second over of the game. When Hardik Pandya was asked about this just after the game against the Gujarat Titans, the MI skipper got furious and gave a befitting reply that the previous captain has also not given Bumrah to bowl the first over, he said, “It's quite fascinating. I see a lot of people asking why Jassi isn't bowled up front, but he's only bowled the first over seven or eight times in 140-odd games. So it's not a Hardik Pandya problem, it's an everybody problem.” 

He further explained that he believes Bumrah is a special bowler who can make an impact in the game anywhere possible. “It’s just that Jasprit Bumrah is so special that you use him wherever it’s required for the team, not when you start. So, but yeah, today was something we realised - that we really want to make an impact with the new ball, and no one’s better than him,” he added.

Mumbai finally won a huge game against the Gujarat Titans, winning by 99 runs and in this game, Bumrah finally got his first wicket of IPL 2026 after going wicketless in all games, and Hardik Pandya gave him the ball in the first over.

Sanjay Manjrekar too questioned Hardik’s credibility as a Captain, saying MI took him for face value.

Ever since Hardik Pandya joined the Mumbai Indians in 2024 from the Gujarat Titans after a successful captaincy stint, he was not accepted well by fans around, as fans booed him in stadiums for replacing Rohit Sharma. Hardik couldn’t answer them back with results, as in 2024, MI was at the bottom of the table, although in 2025, MI reached Qualifier 2; they were missing the domination they had on the league. This year, MI looks more clueless with losing straight 4 games out of 5 matches and finally winning against GT last night, which definitely points fingers at the 32-year-old skipper.

“Hardik Pandya to the Mumbai Indians was a very interesting decision. I think sometimes franchises make decisions that are newsworthy and put them in the spotlight, because ultimately it’s a commercial brand. You can see the kind of valuations franchises are getting. So it may not even be a sound cricketing call,” said Manjrekar on a podcast.

He was also bold enough to say that he felt Hardik Pandya was successful in GT because he had a proactive coach and brains like Ashish Nehra. “Hardik Pandya had success with the Gujarat Titans, and that had a lot to do with somebody named Ashish Nehra. So maybe if you wanted Hardik Pandya, you could have also got Ashish Nehra with him."Hardik Pandya, I believe, was brilliant because there was somebody next to him constantly with almost every move that he made on the field”

He said he just thinks Hardik doesn’t have the brains to think out of the box to carry the legacy of MI. He just has face value and created hype, and that is why MI made him skipper.

What do you think? Will fates turn for MI this season, or will the trophy drought continue…?