Hardik Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: ‘Not the season, I feel’ – the dejection on Hardik Pandya’s face was evident as Mumbai Indians suffered yet another loss in IPL 2026, this time against Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai Indians’ hopes of making the playoffs now hang in the balance after an emphatic eight-wicket defeat. They are in ninth place with just two wins from nine games and only four points.The star-studded Mumbai Indians side, featuring the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, has five IPL titles under their belt and is known for dominating opposition teams, but is struggling at the moment.
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Shikhar Dhawan on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, life after retirement and moreThere is no Mumbai Indians batsman or bowler in the top five list of leading run scorers or wickets in IPL 2026.After Mumbai Indians slumped to their seventh defeat of the season, former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary feels that Pandya, who took over the captaincy in 2024, did not get the support he would have liked from his teammates.“It’s over for me. Sitting here, I’m open about what I’m seeing. Based on the cricket I’ve witnessed, a captain has to earn the trust of every player; you have to be a leader. However, I feel nobody is standing with Hardik. The support he needs is just not there,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.“Yes, the captain has his role and in my opinion he is not playing well. But apart from that other players have to take responsibility. For example, Surya is not performing consistently on a daily basis and Tilak has not maintained his form after even one good match. How can you produce results with such inconsistency in the team? It is very disappointing,” he added.Former India spinner Murali Kartik also believes that IPL 2026 is almost over for Mumbai Indians.“Look, you have five matches left. I say forget who you are playing – even if you win five out of five, you will only reach 14 points. If you look at the table now, PBKS, RCB, SRH and RR are all around 12 or 13 points. Even if these teams win just two or three more matches, they will stay ahead,” Kartik said on Cricbuzz.“Even if Mumbai win every remaining game, 14 is their ceiling. Meanwhile, the top four teams still have games in hand. Punjab Kings have six games left; RCB and SRH have five; Rajasthan have four. It would take a massive shift for MI to qualify. The other teams are actually way ahead and even GT are struggling to beat 99% of the bottom 99,” I’d say. concluded.
