Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions, are on the cusp of elimination from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs race, and a loss against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) would confirm the inevitable. One of the major reasons behind Mumbai’s poor performance has been the underwhelming returns of skipper Hardik Pandya with both bat and ball. Nothing has been going right for the all-rounder, who won the IPL title on his first attempt as a captain with the Gujarat Titans. On the eve of the match against LSG at the Wankhede Stadium, former India batter Sadagoppan Ramesh put Hardik under the scanner, accusing the 32-year-old of not being proactive enough and wanting others to fix the problems.
In the eight matches Hardik has played in the IPL 2026 season, the right-hander has returned with just 146 runs at a strike rate of 136.45. He has also failed to get the job done with the ball, claiming just four wickets at an average of more than 61.
Ramesh feels that the players in a team will never give it their all for a skipper who is not leading from the front, saying Hardik is reluctant to utilise himself in the crucial junctures of the game.
“He wants to stay behind and let others fix the problems. The players in a team are very clever. They’ll know if a captain is actually leading them from the front or hiding behind. If you stay behind as a captain, the players will never give it their all for you,” Ramesh said on Star Sports Tamil.
“It’s one thing to fail as a player, but Hardik as a captain is not stepping up in crises. Instead, he sends different people to right the wrong before coming himself. You are defending only 160, and you come into the bowl after 85 runs have been scored. This is a guy who won India the World Cup under Rohit by bowling the crucial overs. Rohit used Hardik beautifully in crises. Hardik himself used to do it for GT, but for MI, he isn’t doing it,” he added.
‘Terrible strike rate’
Ramesh also feels that the people are rightly talking about Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form. Still, Hardik continues to fly under the radar, saying the Mumbai Indians captain has been guilty of not using the best options inside the powerplay.
“Hardik Pandya gets two chances in a game, with bat and ball. Many point to Suryakumar Yadav’s failures to defend Hardik. While Surya is failing with the bat, Hardik is failing in batting and bowling. His strike rate is terrible in this IPL, and he has also leaked runs with the ball,” said Ramesh.
“Hardik Pandya is also using the bowlers poorly in the powerplay,” he added.
Mumbai Indians are currently ninth in the IPL 2026 standings, and whoever loses in the match between MI and LSG will slip to the bottom of the points table.