The journey of Mumbai Indians, captained by Hardik Pandya, in IPL 2026 so far has been like a nightmare. The 5-time champion team has lost 7 out of 9 matches and is on the verge of being out of the playoff race. Now MI cannot reach the playoffs on their own, they need something which is no less than a miracle. After the defeat against Chennai, former cricketer Manoj Tiwari told what mistakes Pandya made as captain.

Former Team India cricketer Manoj Tiwari believes that unity is no longer visible in the dressing room of Mumbai Indians. He said that the captain has to win the trust of the team, but it seems that the players are not standing with Hardik Pandya.

While talking on Cricbuzz, Tiwari said, as a captain, your job is to win the trust of the player, but the situation seems to be that the player is not completely with Hardik. They are not getting the support they should be getting.

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What mistakes did Hardik Pandya make?

Manoj Tiwari also talked about the mistakes of Hardik Pandya, which Hardik made in the match against CSK. He said, “The opportunity for a wicket came on the ball of Jasprit Bumrah, of course the catch was missed. Bumrah then got him out. Why was Bumrah given the second over? Why was he not given the first over? We say this again and again that if Bumrah is your strike bowler, then give the first over to him only. If the first wicket had fallen in the first over, then see how much pressure would have been on the new batsman.”

Manoj further said, “Trent Boult gave 17 runs in the third over. But if you see, if Jasprit Bumrah had bowled the first over, he would have bowled the third over as well. So who will do this reshuffle, this experiment? Only the captain will do it, but not the head coach.”

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Manoj Tiwari talked about another mistake of Hardik Pandya. He said, “You gave the fifth over to Krish Bhagat, Hardik Pandya himself bowls. So you are not getting the bowling done by the main bowlers you have, who have more experience. This shows where your season is going to go.”

That was the confidence of the Mumbai Indians management when they traded Hardik Pandya to Gujarat Titans. Clearly the MI management was considering Hardik as their long-term captain. But all those plans have remained in vain because Hardik has continuously failed as a captain. Mumbai was deprived of the title in 2024 and 2025. Now the team is in bad condition in IPL 2026 also. After 3 consecutive bad seasons, a new captain can definitely be found. If MI removes Hardik from the captaincy, then know which 3 players can replace him.

Tilak Verma

If Hardik Pandya is removed, then the option of giving back the captaincy to Rohit Sharma will definitely remain open. But keeping the long-term plan in mind, MI management had handed over the captaincy to Hardik. In such a situation, the team would definitely like to appoint a young captain. 23-year-old Tilak has been with Mumbai Indians for the last five years and knows the environment of the team very well. Have also gained a lot of experience. Therefore, handing over the captaincy to Tilak for a long time can definitely be considered.

Jasprit Bumrah

It is not wrong to say that the Indian Premier League played a big role in giving Jasprit Bumrah recognition in world cricket. He has been playing for Mumbai Indians for 14 years, the world has also seen a glimpse of his captaincy. He captained Team India in the 2024-25 BGT, India won that match played in Perth by 295 runs. He has never captained MI, but Bumrah has shown that he knows how to run the game well and can also prove to be an excellent leader.

Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has never been the regular captain of Mumbai Indians, but he got the opportunity to captain in 3 matches. Suryakumar’s form may not be very good, but Surya’s record as captain has been excellent. In the same year, under his captaincy, the Indian team won the T20 World Cup title. Suryakumar is 35 years old, so he will not fit into Mumbai’s long-term plans. In such a situation, it is possible that he should be given the captaincy for some time, so that he can teach leadership skills to Tilak Verma or any other youth.

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Mumbai Indians is the first team to be out of IPL 2026! Only 2 wins in 9 matches; These 5 are responsible

The points table of IPL 2026 has started indicating which team will go to the playoffs and which one may be out. If we look at the current table (IPL Points Table 2026), Lucknow Super Giants is at the bottom, which has been able to collect only 4 points after playing 8 matches. But here the individual will be discussed, because bad captaincy has ruined some teams. Mumbai Indians is also one of them, whose captain Hardik Pandya has been the constant target of critics. Know here about those 3 teams whose captain can change in IPL 2027.

Mumbai Indians

The management of Mumbai Indians had removed Rohit Sharma and made Hardik Pandya the captain in 2024. Mumbai remained at the bottom of the table in IPL 2024 and now the path to the playoffs in 2026 also seems difficult. MI reached the playoffs in the 2025 season, but did not show any amazing performance. If Mumbai is out of the playoffs even in 2026, it will be the third consecutive season under Hardik’s captaincy when the team will be deprived of the title. Hardik’s personal performance has also not been good. All these things may force MI management to change the captain.

Lucknow Super Giants

There was the mega auction of IPL 2025, when Sanjiv Goenka hinted that he was buying Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore. After a disappointing performance in IPL 2025, LSG finished seventh in the points table. The performance level has dropped drastically in IPL 2026, as the team is at the last position in the table. After becoming the captain, the condition of Pant is also the same as that of Hardik Pandya in Mumbai Indians. Pant has been able to score only 458 runs in the 22 matches played so far in the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

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Kolkata Knight Riders

Last season, Kolkata Knight Riders had no option but to hand over the captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane performed well individually and scored 390 runs in the 2025 season. Not only has his individual performance dropped in IPL 2026, but the KKR team is in the same table as it was last season. It can be understood that the Kolkata team has suffered a setback due to the absence of three main fast bowlers, but not having a single win in the first six matches of the season raises questions on Rahane’s captaincy. However, after that Kolkata has won 2 consecutive matches.

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