"Rohit Sharma Disagreed, Suryakumar Was Shocked": Hardik Pandya's Captaincy Ridiculed By Ex Star

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya isn't just struggling to get his team to register wins in the IPL 2026 season but also shake critics off his back. For some experts of the game, Hardik's captaincy is the 'only issue' behind MI's poor start to the campaign. In the first four games of the new season, the franchise has registered three back-to-back losses. Former India batter Sadagoppan Ramesh feels Hardik's captaincy calls and tactical decisions have led the team down. Ramesh didn't shy away from branding Hardik a 'mediocre captain'.

Ramesh pointed out a number of poor decisions that Hardik made in the last match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He feels the skipper was wrong to make Jasprit Bumrah, the team's most economical bowler, bowl two overs in the powerplay.

"MI's only issue is Hardik Pandya's captaincy. Hardik, the player, is at the upper echelon but remains mediocre as captain. He made a huge error by using two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay. Yes, the other bowlers were getting smashed, so Hardik was desperate. But Bumrah bowled his second over in the sixth over of the innings and came back only in the 17th over. It means your best bowler wasn't in the contest for 60 deliveries," Ramesh said on Instagram.

Ramesh also questioned Hardik's decision to bring a spinner against RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, a batter who doesn't just pose strong numbers against spinners but has also taken apart Mayank Markande previously in his IPL career.

"The other big mistake Hardik made was bowling spinners at both ends in the seventh and eighth overs. Bowling spin at both ends is a cardinal sin at the Wankhede Stadium. He also gave Markande an over against Rajat Patidar, who is already an excellent player and turns into a beast against spin. How will you bowl a spinner against Patidar?" he added.

The 50-year-old, who played 19 Tests and 24 ODIs for India, even went on to claim that Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav weren't in agreement with some of the calls Hardik took on the field.

"Hardik Pandya seems to be in a confused state when captaining. He bowled a high full toss to Tim David and took a review. Even Suryakumar Yadav was shocked that he took the review. Then Hardik tried to reverse his decision, but it had already gone up. It is also clearly visible that Rohit Sharma disagrees with many of the decisions Hardik makes," Ramesh said.

"Even if MI had won this match, the captaincy errors were glaring enough. They can finish in the top four and win the title only if these are corrected."

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Topics mentioned in this article

Hardik Pandya Rohit Sharma Suryakumar Yadav Sadagopan Ramesh Mumbai Indians IPL 2026 Cricket