Hardik Pandya Under Fire Over Mumbai Indians' Winless Run. Coach Mahela Jayawardene Responds

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene had some tough questions to answer in the press conference as the franchise lost its fourth consecutive match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. MI were simply no match for a high-flying Punjab Kings (PBKS), who showed them how a team should bat, bowl, field, and lead. Jayawardene, when asked about the crisis in the team and the criticism directed at skipper Hardik Pandya due to the horrendous start to the campaign, passionately defended the captain. Answering a query from a reporter, Jayawardene stated that the problem with the team at present is not at the individual level. He feels the players and the management, including himself, are to be collectively blamed for the sort of campaign they have had.

"Well, I don't think it's just on Hardik; I think it's on every one of us. When we're not doing well, it's not an individual; it's pretty much on me, everyone who's involved in the management and all that, to see how we can be better," he said.

Jayawardene further defended the team, saying they are playing good cricket but other teams have simply been much better.

"I know we're playing good cricket; we're not like taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, more clinical. Obviously, their confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start, so we just need to control phases that we can control. I think the onus is not just on one individual," he asserted.

Mumbai Indians started their IPL 2026 campaign with a win, a feat that hasn't happened in recent years, but since then, it has all been downhill for them. Jayawardene feels a few wins in the coming matches would help the team regain their lost confidence.

"As a franchise, as a team, and as management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt; that will give us that confidence. Now away matches become even more important for us to see how we can control that," said the former Sri Lanka captain.

Speaking of the match against Punjab, Jayawardene said that he hoped to reach the 210-220 mark, considering the start Quinton de Kock provided. However, the team lost momentum at the end.

"At the end, we lost a little bit of rhythm again; they bowled well to pull back. I was hoping that we could get to that 210-220 mark if we had a couple of big overs. Losing momentum at the back end, as well as not setting the tone in that first over, probably put us back another 20 runs.

"So, these are areas that we've discussed. We needed to be sharper, and execution-wise it was quite poor; we have to take that and see how we can do better," he said.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Mahela Jayawardene IPL 2026 Hardik Pandya Cricket