Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu Hardik Pandya felt cornered at MI, names Punjab Kings and CSK as best fit, warns against KKR captaincy.
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Ambati Rayudu says Hardik Pandya should not be captain if he stays at Mumbai Indians (Photo: AP)
MI skipper Hardik Pandya’s future in the IPL has become the biggest talking point ahead of IPL 2027Now former India batter Ambati Rayudu has given a clear and strong opinion on Hardik’s captaincy.
Rayudu believes that Hardik should not be the captain anymoreWhether he stays at Mumbai Indians or goes to another team, Rayudu feels Hardik should play only as a player for at least one season and focus on his own game.
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Hardik Pandya came back to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024He was traded in from Gujarat Titans and was made captain of the side, replacing Rohit SharmaThat decision had created a lot of debate among fans at that time.
But the move has not worked well at allUnder Hardik’s captaincy, Mumbai Indians finished 10th in 2024, made it to the playoffs just once in 2025 and ended up at 9th in 2026In three seasons, MI could reach the playoffs only once.
This is very different from Hardik’s time at Gujarat TitansAt GT, Hardik was very successful as captainHe led the team to the title win in 2022 and then to the final in 2023 as runners-up.
Now reports are saying that MI and Hardik have parted ways and the franchise is looking to trade the all-rounder before the mini-auctionThere are also reports that Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are in talks over a possible trade involving Hardik and Arshdeep Singh.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Rayudu said that Hardik felt under pressure in the Mumbai dressing roomHe felt that Hardik was always looking over his shoulder.
“In Mumbai, I just thought that Hardik felt as if he was corneredAnd once you feel you’re cornered, you’re always looking over your shoulderOnce that happens in a dressing room, you tend to come out in ways that you wouldn’t want toA lot of things didn’t go well for HardikIt might be Hardik’s fault as well as something else,” Rayudu said.
Rayudu did not blame only HardikHe said it could be Hardik’s fault as well as something elseBut he was clear that the environment was not good for him.
Rayudu gave a very clear advice for HardikHe said if Hardik wants to stay at MI, he should give up captaincy and play freely as a match-winner.
“From now on, if he wants to stay at MI, I don’t think he should be the captainHe should just play his game, enjoy his time, and be a match-winner for MIBut if he goes out, definitely not a captain again, at least for one season,” Rayudu said.
According to Rayudu, captaincy has become a burden for HardikIf he plays without captaincy, he can once again become the fearless match-winner that everyone knows him for.
Rayudu also talked about where Hardik can go if he leaves MIHe named Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings as the two best teams for HardikHe said Hardik will find a very good space for his cricket in these two teams, but he should not be captain there either.
He also warned Hardik against going to Kolkata Knight Riders as captainKKR captain Ajinkya Rahane has announced his retirement from IPL cricket, so KKR need a new captainBut Rayudu feels KKR is not an easy team to lead right now.
“I think either Punjab or CSK, because these are the two teams he could go to, but he shouldn’t be captainHe’ll find a very good space there in terms of his cricketBut with KKR, there’s so much on the plate that he needs to assess and take things forward because they need a captainIt’s not an easy team to captain right now,” Rayudu said.
What next?
The deadline to announce player retentions for all ten franchises is November 17, while the IPL 2027 auction is slated for December 16 in GoaAll eyes will now be on Hardik’s next move.
