As I write this blog, MI have been knocked out of IPL 2026. They are wallowing at the 9th position and may well hit bottom if they lose their final match. A repeat of the disastrous 2024 season. In a way, MI stocks on IPL Dalal Street have crashed. But this had happened earlier also in 2022 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. His 11 years at the helm saw the franchise win 5 trophies but also not qualify for the playoffs on 4 occasions. So why the furore over Mumbai Indians’ despondent season and especially regarding Hardik Pandya’s captaincy.
Let’s travel back to November 2023. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Men in Blue for the ICC ODI WC being held in India. After a stellar performance by the team, India falters in the final vs Australia. The skipper has himself been the top scorer in the tournament with 648 runs in 9 innings with an amazing 5 centuries. A few days later the MI Management announces that Hardik Pandya will be the new MI captain for IPL 2024; the much-loved Rohit bhai has been ousted. The anger of MI fans and cricket lovers from across the country rages across social media. The MI Head Coach Mark Boucher tries to calm the storm by calling it ‘a purely cricketing decision’ and for ‘allowing him to thrive purely as a batter.’ The totally forgetful 2024 IPL season is only remembered for the vehement booing of Hardik Pandya and the owners (Mukesh Ambani family) by the fans at the Wankhede stadium.
What sparked the sustained backlash?! The covert way it was done. An All-Cash Deal of Rs 15 crs to get Pandya back from Gujarat Titans with a captaincy clause thrown in. Presumably, the MI Management thought that Rohit’s days as captain were over and who better than to have the all-rounder who had led GT to the 2022 IPL title and the final a year later. But the Unsportsmanlike Vibes of the entire episode could not be shrugged off. The Hitman had led MI from 2013, and Hardik had joined the team as a newbie in 2015. In 2016, he had a poor tournament and was even benched midway for a few matches. The story goes that MI were prepared to trade the all-rounder for the 2017 season, but the captain stepped in and convinced the franchise management of his potential. Suffice to say that Hardik’s best years at MI and for India happened under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. However, his arrogance and self-centred attitude did not even allow for a graceful transition of captaincy.
Take Sanju Samson’s move from RR to CSK for IPL 2026. Many expected him to take over the reins from Ruturaj Gaekwad. Listen-in to Samson, ‘I am here to play for my team. I’ll play for my captain Ruturaj.’ He went on to praise Gaekwad’s assured captaincy and how it gave him the freedom to play without fear. Small wonder that Samson has broken Dhoni’s long-standing record for the franchise- 477 runs in 13 matches as WK- batsman vs Thala’s 461 runs in 2013. This is pure sporting spirit.
In a sense, the MI owners are also in the dock for this entire episode. The billionaire family are the owners and have every right to change the captain of their franchise team; but surely not this way-like a midnight coup. A Captain who had led your team for 11 years and to 5 titles surely deserved better. A Mentor to your senior players like Bumrah, SKY and Hardik Pandya himself surely deserved better. At the very least, a warm, heartfelt ceremony to highlight the transfer of captaincy would have been expected. The Ambanis treated it just like another business deal, albeit a high-profile transaction. In their ivory tower, they did not realise that cricket is much more than a mere sport in India. Players like Thala Dhoni (CSK), King Kohli (RCB) and Rohit Sharma (MI) have a passionate fan following much beyond the franchise domain.
Rohit bhai has become an emotion. For MI fans he is ‘Mumbai cha Raja’. The owners are realising their blunder too late and instead of owning up are rolling out an elaborate PR campaign. So, we are shown Nita Ambani in an animated discussion with Hardik Pandya with Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma listening in; we have Akash Ambani walking out before the end of the match with a disconsolate look on his face. Listen up, the owners have scored the self-goal. Such is the power of the Ambanis that well-known cricket experts are tiptoeing around the mess. We have Harsha Bhogle who says that he feels very sad for Hardik Pandya; sadly, we have R Ashwin opining that ‘to pin the blame on Hardik is a bit too much. Nobody turned up.’ Seriously?! If players are not performing, isn’t the captain accountable?! Out of their 4 wins this year SKY has led MI in 2 matches and Bumrah in 1 match with Hardik sitting out due to injury. Period. Finally, he ends up spilling out the truth- ‘it’s not easy to replace Rohit Sharma.’ The money and power of the franchise owners is so palpable that even ex-cricketers and commentators are afraid to call a spade a spade. The very apparent rifts and tensions in the MI dressing room are being dismissed as ‘rumours’. If the MI Icon and Mentor Sachin Tendulkar has remained silent on the abrupt removal of Rohit as captain, then one can understand The Sounds of Silence.
A few exceptions like K Srikanth and Murali Kartik are speaking out. The former has called out Pandya’s ‘Dabba captaincy’ and questioned why he is not bowling in the death overs. Kartik has clearly said that ‘bringing in Hardik to replace Rohit Sharma as captain has alienated senior MI players and damaged dressing room culture.’ MI management also did not factor in the captaincy aspirations of SKY at the franchise since 2012 & of Bumrah at MI since 2013.
The BCCI and Indian Selectors have acted far more sensibly. On the 29th of June 2024, Rohit Sharma lifted the T20 WC trophy after India beat South Africa in Barbados; on the 9th March 2025, the Men in Blue beat New Zealand in the final of the ODI ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in Dubai with Rohit Sharma at the helm. Egg on the faces of the MI Management and the owners!!! The legendary Head Coach Rahul Dravid has revealed that it was the India captain who persuaded him to remain as Head Coach after the heartbreak in the 2023 ODI final vs Australia. He has also mentioned that ‘he loved Rohit’s captaincy as he took responsibility for setting the tempo himself rather than asking others to do’; and ‘that he would miss Rohit as a person.’ His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has called him ‘a gem of a person.’ Harbhajan Singh has said that ‘you will not find a better insaan’ (Human being) amongst current Indian cricketers’; Bumrah has said again and again ‘that I was privileged to play under his captaincy.’ Sanju Samson holds him in highest regard for ‘his communication, empathetic leadership and personal encouragement’; Kuldeep Yadav has thanked him for his career revival; Mohammed Shami praises him as a selfless leader and the most dangerous white-ball cricket opener in the world; to the young Tilak Verma dedicating many of his match-winning performances to his elder bro and mentor Rohit Sharma. How could the MI Management have missed out on this humongous goodwill swirling around their captain Rohit Sharma?
Hardik Pandya is a top-class allrounder in white ball cricket. He has positively impacted many matches for MI, GT and in India colours. But it needs to be said that at MI and at international level he had Rohit Sharma as mentor; at GT he had Ashish Nehra- motivator and a real cricketing brain. He has lakhs of fans rooting for him with hashtags like Justice for Hardik, Pandya the Legend and We Love Hardik. His fan following is a combo- for his cricketing skills and a cultivated rock-star and playboy persona. As far as cricket performances are concerned he is still not a legend like Kapil Dev; also, to be a true leader one has to earn respect and show character. The playboy image almost ruined his career in 2019 when he and KL Rahul appeared on the infamous Koffee with Karan show. Pandya came across as boastful, misogynist, sexist – bragging about his conquests of women and even showing his parents in a very disrespectful light. Crass, cringeworthy, he crossed all lines of decency. He and Rahul were called back from the Australia tour and temporarily suspended.
Hardik Pandya is only 32 years old. As a top-quality white ball cricketer, he has a few more years of good cricket left. He is in the dumps now, but who knows he may win the ICC 2027 ODI WC for his country. However, he must focus on his fitness and his game and re-set his mindset and even reinvent himself. Remember 12th July 1998. France defeated defending champions Brazil 3-0 to win their first World Cup. The OG Ronaldo, an all-time great, was a shadow of himself in the finals. The multifunctional striker was lambasted and derided and even accused of match-fixing. Much, much more than what Hardik Pandya has had to go through. In the 2002 FIFA WC Brazil lifted their 5th title beating Germany 2-0 in the finals in Japan. You guessed it!! Ronaldo scored both the goals and was declared Man of the Finals. Cricket or Football- fortunes change but only if the Champion players prepare for it and will it to happen.
So, what about Rohit Sharma? He is planning for his life beyond cricket. He will be hosting a talk show on Sony Liv. With his wry sense of humour and the Mumbaikar lingo he will ‘take some guests for a walk down the garden.’ But Indian cricket should not lose out on his vast experience, his cricketing brain and his mentorship aura. A stint as Head of National Cricket Academy for upcoming Indian cricketers automatically comes to mind. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have made great contributions in this role. The roles of Head Coach, Chairman of Selectors or even President or Secretary of BCCI (sometime in the future) will seminally boost the growth, success and influence of Indian cricket.
A Fistful of Salt 