Ravichandran Ashwin Defends Hardik Pandya Amidst Mumbai Indians' Poor IPL 2026 Season

Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians have endured a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign. The five-time champions, who won all their titles under former skipper Rohit Sharma, are already out of the playoff race after managing just four wins in 12 matches while suffering eight defeats. One of the major talking points surrounding Mumbai Indians’ poor season has been the form of captain Hardik Pandya, who has struggled with the bat. Pandya has scored 146 runs in eight matches at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44. With criticism mounting over both his batting and captaincy, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin came out in support of the all-rounder, calling it unfair to place the blame solely on him. "I wouldn't review his captaincy this year at all. Honestly, when you have seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is quite unfair. Nobody has turned up, the team has failed to turn up. And for Hardik to take the blame on himself is asking a little too much. He was there at Gujarat Titans and had two fabulous seasons," Ashwin said on ESPNCricinfo. Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians in 2024, this time as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. Before his move to Gujarat Titans in 2022, Pandya had already been a part of the Mumbai Indians setup from 2015 to 2021. He led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022 and then guided them to the final again in 2023. Ashwin believes replacing a highly successful captain like Rohit Sharma was never going to be easy. Rohit guided Mumbai Indians to IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, establishing himself as one of the league’s most successful captains. Pandya’s appointment as MI captain in 2024 also triggered strong reactions from fans, with the all-rounder facing boos during the season. "So clearly, as a leader, he did something right there (Gujarat Titans). And when he came back to Mumbai Indians, he's had to deal with quite a bit. It's not easy to replace an incumbent Indian white-ball captain such as Rohit Sharma. Five IPL titles, he’s won a T20 World Cup, and Hardik comes in and replaces him. You've got a lot of fandom around the country," Ashwin said. "You need to have thick skin to survive social media these days. I think he's gone through quite a bit in his personal life as well. I wouldn't judge his captaincy too much because the bowling has also leaked runs in every direction. Every single time an over goes for six or seven runs, along comes a 15-run over. So what do you do as a captain? Sure, he's made some calls that have been debatable. There was a time in Mumbai when there was a short boundary on the leg side. You don't want to bowl the 20th over from that end. But he chose to bowl the 20th over from that side, with the field placement at the wrong end when the innings started. So these things can happen. They can pile up one after the other," he said. Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2024 after Pandya took charge. They bounced back in 2025 and reached Qualifier 2 before losing to Punjab Kings. However, the 2026 season has again ended without a playoff berth for the franchise. "Captaincy is often a result of how your team makes you look. Which is why I believe that when you have a good season, don't give too much credit to the captain. And when you have a bad season, don't pin it all on him," Ashwin said.