Mumbai Indians’ campaign continues to be a roller coaster one in the 2026 season. They have broken the jinx of winning the first match since 2012, but post that have lost four games in a row; however, they have beaten Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, which is something they have not done since the introduction of the Titans franchise in 2022 again the dip came on Thursday when Chennai Super Kings thrashed them by 103 runs putting a huge dent in the Net Run Rate.
The five-time champions are lingering in 8th position on the table. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali, speaking on the YouTube channel The Game Plan, predicted that Mumbai’s position will improve on the table again, but also, he said, “Mrs Ambani jab unke bache ko gussa ayega na tab danda denge bhai chalo ab jeetho match ab out nehi hona sow karo sow, (The sons of Mrs Ambani when they punish them and ask to win matches and score centuries).”
Another former Pakistan cricketer, Kamran Akmal, on the same show, questioned why Mumbai has not removed Hardik from captaincy. “I don’t understand when Mumbai will axe Hardik as the captain. They are at the bottom of the table. I feel Hardik should just play as a player.”
Akmal recommended Suryakumar Yadav to take over the captaincy. He also spoke about the dip in performance since Hardik has taken over from Rohit Sharma at the start of the 2024 season. “Look at the performance of MI. Look at the performance of Hardik Pandya himself. He is an all-rounder and is among the best players. If you take out the captaincy load on him, his batting and bowling will improve,” Akmal said.
Chasing 208 runs on Friday, Mumbai capitulated for just 104 runs. Sanju Samson for the Chennai Super Kings scored a sublime century. Although the score looked chasable at the halfway mark, Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmed spun their web on the power-packed Mumbai batting line-up, choking them through the middle overs to bundle them for just 104 runs.
