The Indian Premier League 2026 has seen several emerging players rise to the big stage, while many veterans have also stepped up their game to prove their relevance in the rapidly evolving T20 setup, with selections around the corner ahead of a packed international calendar for every national team. However, a few Indian veterans have failed to replicate their performances for their franchises this season, even after successful campaigns both individually and collectively during India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. The most notable names are Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, who have struggled to deliver for the Mumbai Indians this season, with MI now mathematically out of the qualification race after a particularly challenging campaign for the 5-time champions.
MI currently sit 9th on the table, with just 4 wins in 12 matches, their latest coming in a successful 201-run chase against Punjab Kings, who are still fighting for a qualification spot despite their excellent start to the season, when they remained unbeaten in their first seven matches. However, PBKS have derailed lately, suffering their 5th consecutive defeat.
However, the talk of the town before the match was the omission of skipper Hardik, with Jasprit Bumrah finally getting his chance to lead the MI side after being the backbone of their bowling department since making his debut for them in 2013. Suryakumar also missed the match against PBKS due to personal reasons following the birth of his child.
MI, who completed a spectacular chase thanks to a match-winning, unbeaten, blistering knock by Tilak Varma, who scored 75 off just 33 balls, further pushed the wait for the Shreyas Iyer-led side to book a qualification spot, as they continue to add to their woes of struggling at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium.
What was a spectacular win for Bumrah on his captaincy debut was marked by a breath of fresh air through MI’s bowling heroics, an area that has surprisingly been below standard this season. Shardul Thakur led the bowling attack and made the best use of the pitch while picking up 4 crucial wickets for just 39 runs.
Post this heroic win, Shardul cleared the air around Hardik not travelling with the whole squad and hinted at his comeback in their upcoming match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, May 20.
“Hardik is injured, so he could not travel for a couple of games. He went to Raipur [for the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 10], but could not play. He is training in Mumbai now, and I expect him to be back in Kolkata and play against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) next Wednesday. Players like them, we always miss the quality,” Shardul said in the post-match presser.
When asked about Hardik’s potential trade in the next edition of the IPL, Shardul immediately rubbished those rumours with a statement saying, “Chatter always keeps going on social media. Some are true, and some are false. But only the team management decides in the end.”
While it remains to be seen what the future holds for Hardik in the MI setup as both a player and skipper after a turbulent stint since his comeback in 2024, following a successful IPL-winning captaincy spell with the Gujarat Titans in 2022, his individual performances have also taken a hit this campaign with both bat and ball. Hardik has scored just 146 runs in 8 matches at a below-par strike rate of around 136, far below his standards as a proven match-finisher and explosive middle-order batter. He has further struggled to produce any match-winning impact with the ball, managing just 4 wickets while conceding at an economy of around 12.