Mumbai Indians are set to sack Hardik Pandya as captain after a disastrous IPL 2026 season in which they finished in 9th place with 10 losses in 14 games.
Published: June 2, 2026, 11:51 AM IST
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/not-hardik-pandya-or-suryakumar-yadav-or-jasprit-bumrah-rohit-sharma-backed-this-star-cricketer-tilak-varma-to-take-over-as-mi-captain-in-middle-of-ipl-2026-8433431/
Hardik Pandya is set to lose MI captaincy after IPL 2026. (Photo: IANS)
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians endured a horrific season in IPL 2026, finishing in ninth place after suffering 10 losses in 14 matches. The biggest repercussion of the disappointing show for MI could be the sacking of their current skipper Hardik Pandya. According to media reports, Pandya will struggle to retain his spot in the MI squad in the upcoming IPL 2027 season as well.
In what is an explosive news coming from the MI camp, former India and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma reportedly called for Hardik Pandya to be replaced as the team’s captain with Tilak Varma midway through the IPL 2026 season. Hardik had replaced Rohit as the MI captain ahead of IPL 2024 after returning to the side from Gujarat Titans and the team management reportedly didn’t consult with Rohit before appointing the new captain.
Read more:
IPL 2026: How and Why did Royal Challengers Bengaluru win IPL 2026? Here are 7 reasons why…
According to a report in Cricblogger website, Rohit and Hardik Pandya’s relationship reportedly hit the nadir when the Baroda all-rounder decided to move to GT from MI ahead of IPL 2022. “Rohit had informed the Mumbai Indians management that Hardik was ‘unlikely to bowl again’ because of his injury concerns and that there was little merit in retaining him solely as a batter,” the Cricblogger report read.
The report adds that Rohit had even recommended batter Tilak Varma to replace Hardik Pandya as captain, not Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav or even Jasprit Bumrah. Both Suryakumar Yadav and Bumrah had led MI in middle IPL 2026 when Hardik Pandya was suffering with back spasms.
“The fact that Rohit is suggesting Tilak’s name itself shows the extent of the toxicity between them,” a source was quoted as saying by Cricblogger about Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya relationship.
Also Read | Rishabh Pant QUITS Lucknow Super Giants captaincy after disastrous IPL 2026 season
Hardik Pandya was retained for Rs 16.35 crore by Nita Ambani’s MI ahead of IPL 2026 season while Tilak Varma had been retained for Rs 8 crore by them. Last week an Indian Express report stated that the MI owners and team management are considering sacking Hardik Pandya as skipper.
“There were enough signs during the season that the team management wasn’t keen to retain him as captain. There is a clear buzz in the camp,” a MI source was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Hardik has a disappointing captaincy record for MI since he took over in 2024 season. Out of 46 matches, he only posted 19 wins and suffered 22 losses. Overall in his IPL career, Pandya has won 41 matches in 77 games with 35 losses and 1 no-result to his name.
