Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come out in support of Hardik Pandya amid growing criticism surrounding his disappointing Indian Premier League 2026 campaign with Mumbai Indians (MI) as a captain.
Hardik has endured a difficult season both as captain and player, with MI becoming one of the first teams to be knocked out of the playoff race. The all-rounder has also been sidelined for the franchise’s last three matches due to a back issue, adding further speculation around his future with the five-time champions.
The legendary Indian off-spinner felt it was unfair to solely blame Hardik for Mumbai’s struggles this season, as he feels that the whole team was at fault for not performing at their best.
“I wouldn’t review his captaincy this year at all. Honestly, when you have seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is quite unfair. Nobody has turned up. The team has failed to turn up and for Hardik to take the blame on himself is… you’re asking him to do a little too much,” Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show.
The veteran spinner further highlighted the immense pressure Hardik faced after replacing Rohit as MI captain and advised him to stay mentally strong amid constant social media criticism.
“It’s not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five [six] titles in the IPL. He’s won a T20 World Cup. And Hardik comes and replaces him. You’ve got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive the social media these days,” Ashwin stated.
Ashwin concluded by saying that captaincy often depends on how well the team performs collectively and insisted that one individual should not shoulder the blame for a poor campaign.
“I wouldn’t judge his captaincy much because the bowling has also leaked [runs in] every direction. Every single time an over is bowled for six or seven runs, in comes a 15-run over. So what do you do as a captain? And sure, he’s made some calls that have been debatable,” Ashwin said.
“Captaincy is the result of how your team is making you look. So which is why I believe when you have a good season, don’t give too much credit to a captain. When you have a bad season, don’t pin it on him,” he concluded.
Hardik’s performances in IPL 2026 have been underwhelming so far. In eight innings, he has scored 146 runs at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44 while managing only four wickets at an economy rate of 11.90.
