Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya with teammate Suryakumar Yadav during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Jaipur. (PTI photo) As captaincy rumors swirl around Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2026, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has backed Hardik Pandya to continue as the leader and urged the franchise to avoid another change at the top.Mumbai Indians have some experienced players in the dressing room, including Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, both of whom have led India in T20 cricket. A few seasons back, the franchise replaced Rohit with captain Hardik, ending a tenure that brought five IPL titles. The decision drew backlash from a section of fans, especially as Hardik shifted from Gujarat Titans and immediately took charge. Still, the team made the playoffs last season.With Suryakumar recently leading India to the T20 World Cup title, there have been discussions about his leadership role, with some suggesting a possible change as captain at Mumbai Indians.However, Kaif said the team should continue with Hardik and pointed to the progress made under him last season.
Watch
Axar Patel questions Impact Player rule: ‘All-rounders lose value’ “I don’t think Mumbai Indians should make the same mistake again. They had a bad season after removing Rohit Sharma and bringing in Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya has settled into his role now. They played Qualifier 2 last year. So Hardik Pandya has done a good job as captain,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Vote
Do you think frequent changes of captains affect the team’s performance?
He also cautioned against frequent management changes based on trends, referring to the earlier shift from Rohit to Hardik and the current discussion around Suryakumar.“Suryakumar Yadav is one option but it shouldn’t happen like how they treated Rohit Sharma when they said now we have Hardik Pandya who made Gujarat champions so now he will be the captain. Hardik was a hot topic then and they pushed him. Now Suryakumar Yadav is a hot topic. Next year it will be someone else so you remove Surya?” he added.Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at home on March 29.
