The start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season hasn't been ideal for the five-time champions, the Mumbai Indians. The Hardik Pandya-led side suffered their fourth defeat in a row after going down against the Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. After the loss, the all-rounder painted a sorry picture and was quite harsh in his assessment. Speaking immediately after the defeat, the 32-year-old stated that ownership needs to be taken by the individuals, and everyone has to do better. He did not stop there, also saying that management needs to decide whether to take a final call on some individuals or wait for a turnaround.
The latest statement by Hardik did not go down well with former India batter Manoj Tiwary, as he tore into the Mumbai Indians captain for his own leadership and how he erred in the game against the Punjab Kings.
In the game against the Mumbai Indians, the Punjab Kings chased down the target of 196 with seven wickets in hand and 21 balls to spare, owing to half-centuries by Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer.
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“From where will ownership come? One has to look at oneself as well. You need to see how you have been playing. According to me, just because you are not having success this year doesn't mean the mistakes happened only this year. You need to look at the root cause as well. From 2015-2023, Rohit Sharma helped the Mumbai Indians win several trophies,” said Tiwary on Cricbuzz.
“In 2023, there was no trophy. In 2024, there was no trophy, and the chances of the same happening are high this year too. I think the captaincy is weak. I don't want to be harsh. But Hardik is not leading the team the way it should be. It's very important to be proactive as a captain,” he added.
‘Hand reins back to Rohit’
Tiwary also said that if the Mumbai Indians want to see a turnaround in their fortunes, Hardik needs to step back from the captaincy and pass the baton back to Rohit Sharma, given how the latter has won the franchise five titles.
The former Indian batter also criticised Hardik for promoting himself in the batting order despite having someone like Sherfane Rutherford. He also criticised the move to open the bowling with Deepak Chahar despite the medium pacer's poor form.
“Hardik shouldn't have promoted himself against the Punjab Kings. He scored 14 runs off 12 balls. Sherfane Rutherford just got five balls. If Rutherford had played as many balls, he would have hit 3-4 sixes. Hardik Pandya thought he could do it. Yes, he could have done it,” said Tiwary.
“You should have pushed Rutherford up. And secondly, there is no point in giving Jasprit Bumrah the second over when you are not giving him the first. Deepak Chahar just isn't able to swing the ball. Shreyas Iyer showed outstanding captaincy, whereas Mumbai Indians' captaincy was very weak. I think that if a solution is needed, Hardik should step back from the captaincy and hand the responsibility back to Rohit. When you removed Rohit, you did an injustice,” he added.
In the match against Punjab, Hardik came out to bat at No.5, scoring just 14 balls off 12 balls, including one six. With the ball, he leaked 39 runs in three overs. It is worth mentioning that Hardik replaced Rohit as the Mumbai Indians captain in 2024. The 2026 edition is Hardik's third year in a row, leading the franchise. In 2024, Mumbai finished last, while in 2025, the team reached Qualifier 2.
Hardik began his captaincy career with the Gujarat Titans, winning the tournament in 2022 and then leading the same franchise to the final the following year.