Hardik Pandya (Pic Credit: IPL)
NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly backed Hardik Pandya, insisting that it is unfair to hold the captain solely responsible for Mumbai Indians’ disappointing IPL 2026 campaign.MI, one of the most successful franchises in the history of the IPL, became only the second side to crash out of play-off contention this season after managing just four wins from 12 matches. With Hardik also enduring a lean run with both bat and ball, the criticism surrounding his captaincy intensified.However, Ashwin feels the blame was misplaced.“I wouldn’t rate his captaincy at all this year. Honestly, when you have seasons like that, it’s quite unfair to blame the captain. Nobody turned up. The team didn’t turn up,” Ashwin told ESPNcricinfo.“You’re asking him to do too much”The former India spinner pointed to Hardik’s successful leadership of Gujarat Titans, where he led the team to the title and runner-up finish in two seasons, as proof of his captaincy credentials.“He was there at Gujarat Titans. He had two fabulous seasons. It’s clear that he did something as a leader there,” Ashwin said.Ashwin added that replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain in 2024 was never going to be easy.“It’s not easy to replace the incumbent Indian captain, a white-ball captain like Rohit Sharma. Five IPL titles. Won the T20 World Cup. You have a lot of fans in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive social media these days.”Concerns over Hardik’s batting formAshwin also expressed concern over Hardik’s batting, saying his timing issues suggested it could be an underlying physical issue.“I found something quite interesting and strange with his batting – how late he is on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We wouldn’t know. But he was late with the long deliveries.”Hardik has scored just 146 runs in eight innings this season, taking four wickets at an economy of 11.90. He also missed three games due to a reported back problem.Still, Ashwin insisted that the all-rounder remains invaluable.“Hardik is a once-in-a-generation player. You don’t find players like that. If India finds itself in a certain T20 championship now, Hardik has been the cornerstone in that,” he added.
Do you think Hardik Pandya deserves to be blamed for MI 2026 IPL’s poor performance?
