Former Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh rushed to Hardik Pandya’s defence, who has been on the receiving end of criticism lately. MI crashed to their fifth defeat of IPL 2026 on Thursday, losing by 103 runs to Chennai Super Kings. Nothing really seemed to be working for Hardik, who is also the MI skipper, as Sanju Samson took on opposition bowlers with ease.
The CSK opener smacked an unbeaten knock of 101* runs off 54 balls, packed with 10 fours and six maximums, and he was striking at 187.04. Samson got his ton in the final ball of the first innings, hitting a six, as CSk reached 207/6 in 20 overs. In response, the MI batting order crumbled with ease, with only Suryakumar Yadav (36) and Tilak Varma (37) getting double-digit scores. Three batters were dismissed for a duck, and Hardik also had a poor outing with the bat. The MI captain managed only one run in two balls before losing his wicket to Noor Ahmed.
Taking to X, Robin Singh, also a former India player, urged fans and experts to stop making Hardik the scapegoat as his teammates have also not contributed.
“Seeing the fallout of comments after @mipaltan MI’s loss vs CSK at the @IPL last night .. and having been part of their management until few years ago .. I feel it is quite impossible to blame just the captain for this debacle”, he wrote.
“What’s up with proven international batsmen with the target in front of them ?? Are they not supposed to keep the run rate achievable?? That’s the role of each and every player.. So who decides to chase all the time upon winning the toss ?? For clearly it’s not working”, he added.
MI are now eighth in the ten-team standings with five defeats and two wins. They are running out of time and need to stage a turnaround soon. Tilak Varma has been MI’s highest run-scorer this season with 181 runs, and it perfectly reflects their misfiring batting department. India captain Suryakumar Yadav has managed only 157 runs. Even in bowling, things haven’t worked out for MI, and lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah has taken only 2 wickets in 7 games.
Speaking after the defeat against CSK, Hardik also accepted that his side should have batted well. “They batted well, they scored 207. It was the same track, it is the same soil. We should have just batted well”, he said.