"I Know Why Hardik Pandya Said 'Don't Have Much To Say'": R Ashwin Explains Mumbai Indians Crisis

After suffering a fourth consecutive defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya admitted that he doesn't have "much to say". The post-match presentation ceremony saw Hardik arrive with a grim look on his face, with the expression of a captain who doesn't know what needs to be done for his team to bounce back. Dissecting the Mumbai Indians' struggles and Hardik's post-match comments, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted what is going wrong with the five-time champions.

Ashwin, who has turned into a full-time pundit since retiring from international cricket and the IPL, said that Hardik's comments come from the fact that he and the MI management no longer have solutions to the problems they are facing on the field.

"He said, 'I don't have much to say.' You know why he said that... honestly, it doesn't look like he has a lot of answers. Because at the start of this match, he said, 'We gave away four 20-run overs in the last game.' And that is not acceptable in the modern-day game," he said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

MI coach Mahela Jayawardene said that the team was about 20 runs shy of what would've been a par score in the match. However, Ashwin doesn't think MI would've even been able to defend 230 runs with the ball.

"And today, 190-maybe 20 runs were less in the (desired) score. I agree, 20 runs are less. But I honestly felt that on this wicket and in these home conditions, because Mahela also said at the 10-over mark that this is not a 240 wicket. This could have been a 210-220 wicket. But in no way did Mumbai even give the impression that they could defend 230. After giving up 190, once again, Deepak Chahar's first over went for 21 runs. After that, Jasprit Bumrah had to follow up. But Bumrah and Allah Ghazanfar brought Mumbai back into the game. And once again, in the 9th and 10th overs, if I am not wrong, Deepak Chahar came on again, and Mumbai went out of the game," Ashwin said.

RAVI ASHWIN EXPOSED HARDIK PANDYA'S CAPTAINCY

- Mumbai never looked serious while defending. Deepak Chahar leaked 21 runs early, was briefly covered by Bumrah & Ghazanfar, but bringing Chahar back in the 9th over shifted momentum. Bowling lacked answers. pic.twitter.com/sEWuryhV2k

— Sam (@Cricsam01) April 17, 2026

While Bumrah is yet to pick up a single wicket this season, the likes of Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Trent Boult have been quite expensive. Ashwin feels the fatigue from the T20 World Cup is a big factor in the MI players' underwhelming start to the season.

"They tried with Boult, but it didn't work. With Deepak Chahar, it didn't work. Shardul Thakur is not getting his act together. Shardul Thakur will bowl on a wicket like this; he is a high-risk bowler. The spinner, Allah Ghazanfar, is okay. Mitchell Santner has been up and down. I feel that the fatigue from the T20 World Cup, which was such a long season, and we practised for T20 before that as well, is a burden we can see on the Mumbai Indians. And I don't see how they are going to come out of this. Because there are a lot of questions about bowling. In the past, they might have been outplayed. But now, they don't have answers with the ball," he stressed.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Hardik Pandya Ravichandran Ashwin IPL 2026 Cricket