Ex-India Star Hits Back At R Ashwin, Namedrops Rohit Sharma In Big 'Captaincy' Warning To MI
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif suggested that Mumbai Indians (MI) should not make the mistake of replacing Hardik Pandya as captain.
- Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif stated that Mumbai Indians should not replace Hardik Pandya as captain
- "Suryakumar is an option, but it should not happen like how they treated Rohit Sharma," Kaif said
- Kaif opposed Ravichandran Ashwin's views, who had stated that MI should replace Hardik with Suryakumar
The debate around who should be Mumbai Indians (MI) captain continues amongst experts despite just a couple of days to go till the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season begins. This is because India's T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav serves as deputy to Hardik Pandya at MI, despite the latter no longer holding a designated leadership role in the national team. However, while legendary India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had said that MI should make the captaincy switch, former India batter Mohammad Kaif stated that doing so would be a "mistake".
Kaif compared a potential captaincy switch from Hardik to Suryakumar to the transition from Rohit Sharma to Hardik ahead of the 2024 season.
"I don't think that Mumbai Indians should make the same mistake again. They had a poor season after removing Rohit Sharma and bringing Hardik Pandya in. Hardik Pandya is settling in his role now. They played Qualifier 2 last year. So, Hardik Pandya did a good job as captain," Kaif said, speaking on his YouTube channel.
In 2024, despite leading the franchise to five titles, Rohit was replaced as MI skipper, with Hardik taking over the role after leading Gujarat Titans (GT) to two finals in as many seasons. At that point, Hardik was Rohit's deputy in white-ball cricket for Team India, and the heir apparent.
"Suryakumar Yadav is an option, but it should not happen like how they treated Rohit Sharma, saying now we have Hardik Pandya, who made Gujarat champions, so he will captain now. Hardik was the hot topic then, and they pushed him. Now Suryakumar Yadav is the hot topic. Next year, someone else will be the hot topic, so will you then remove Surya?" Kaif reasoned.
While MI finished rock-bottom in their first season under Hardik's captaincy in 2024, they enjoyed a much stronger season in 2025, getting all the way to Qualifier 2.
Hardik Pandya
Rohit Sharma
Ravichandran Ashwin
Mumbai Indians
India Cricket Team