In all sporting competitions, teams will end up going on a winless run. It's up to the management and the team to get out of the funk. In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), the Mumbai Indians are going through this currently.
It's been up to their captain, Hardik Pandaya, to help them get out of trouble.
Despite boasting several T20 World Cup winning players - including Pandya; Suryakumar Yadav; Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma - Mumbai have struggled to generate any momentum.
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, Hardik Pandya, cut a dejected figure after his side suffered a third consecutive defeat in IPL 2026; going down to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
MI, chasing a massive 241-run target, were always under pressure after RCB posted a huge 240-4; powered by half-centuries from Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar. Despite a strong start from Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton, Mumbai never truly took control of the chase and eventually finished on 222-5; with Sherfane Rutherford’s unbeaten 71 being the lone standout effort.
In the dressing room after the match, Hardik addressed the squad alongside head coach, Mahela Jayawardene and urged the players to respond collectively to the setback rather than isolate themselves.
He said, "Thinking from what MJ said, I think here there are two options we can do. One is go back in our rooms, go back into our cocoon spaces and try to figure it out. I know it's tough losing but let's learn...let's not get disappeared."
"But let's learn. It's always winning and learning, never losing. So let's do that. That's something which tonight after the game, once we go back to hotel, let's have a meal together, we'll talk about cricket. We'll talk about something else but we'll figure it out," Hardik said in the dressing room.
Reflecting on the defeat, Hardik admitted that MI have struggled to control games in recent outings, often finding themselves chasing matches rather than dictating terms.
After the match, he said, "I think we conceded way too many runs. I think that (241-run target) was always going to be catch-up. I think in the last couple of games, as a bowling unit or even as a batting unit, we've been quite catching up in the game rather than leading the game. We really need to reflect, really need to see what best we can do and how we can get that momentum and that click which we require."
"We have a couple of days off from here and we will play again. (bat second the way to go here?) To be very honest, now a lot of things needs to be rethink. Definitely, it's not working. Couple of games we have won the toss, but maybe we need to see what other options we have as a batting group or bowling group. Looking at the kind of wicket it's playing, if we can bat as well, that would be good. We still need to play cricket, we still need to bat well, we still need to bowl well," Hardik said.
With MI slipping to a third straight defeat, the skipper stressed the need for introspection and possible tactical changes as the franchise looks to halt its slide in the tournament.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya isn't just struggling to get his team to register wins in the IPL 2026 season but also shake critics off his back. For some experts of the game, Hardik's captaincy is the 'only issue' behind MI's poor start to the campaign. In the first four games of the new season, the franchise has registered three back-to-back losses.
Former India batter, Sadagoppan Ramesh, feels Hardik's captaincy calls and tactical decisions have led the team down. Ramesh didn't shy away from branding Hardik a 'mediocre captain'.
Ramesh pointed out a number of poor decisions that Hardik made in the last match against the RCB. He feels the skipper was wrong to make Jasprit Bumrah, the team's most economical bowler, bowl two overs in the powerplay.
"MI's only issue is Hardik Pandya's captaincy. Hardik, the player, is at the upper echelon but remains mediocre as captain. He made a huge error by using two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay. Yes, the other bowlers were getting smashed, so Hardik was desperate. But Bumrah bowled his second over in the sixth over of the innings and came back only in the 17th over. It means your best bowler wasn't in the contest for 60 deliveries [10 overs]," Ramesh said on Instagram.
Ramesh also questioned Hardik's decision to bring a spinner against RCB skipper, Rajat Patidar, a batter who doesn't just pose strong numbers against spinners but has also taken apart Mayank Markande previously in his IPL career.
"The other big mistake Hardik made was bowling spinners at both ends in the seventh and eighth overs. Bowling spin at both ends is a cardinal sin at the Wankhede Stadium. He also gave Markande an over against Rajat Patidar, who is already an excellent player and turns into a beast against spin. How will you bowl a spinner against Patidar?" he added.
The 50-year-old, who played 19 Tests and 24 ODIs for India, even went on to claim that Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav weren't in agreement with some of the calls Hardik took on the field.
"Hardik Pandya seems to be in a confused state when captaining. He bowled a high full toss to Tim David and took a review. Even Suryakumar Yadav was shocked that he took the review. Then Hardik tried to reverse his decision, but it had already gone up. It is also clearly visible that Rohit Sharma disagrees with many of the decisions Hardik makes," Ramesh said.
"Even if MI had won this match, the captaincy errors were glaring enough. They can finish in the top four and win the title only if these are corrected."
Despite boasting several Twenty20 World Cup winning players - including Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma - Mumbai have struggled to generate any momentum.
The battle between the brothers Krunal and Hardik was one of the most anticipated parts of the Mumbai-Bengaluru clash in the IPL. Like last year, Krunal triumphed once again in the 'battle of brothers'.
After the match, Krunal said he was the luckier Pandya among the two brothers.
"Last year, I also said that eventually the points are coming home only. One Pandya had to win and, I guess, I was the lucky one in that," said Krunal, who could not control his smile while making the remark.
Krunal played a crucial role in RCB’s win in Saturday’s high-scoring encounter, which is now the franchise’s second successive victory over MI at the Wankhede Stadium. With his wily left-arm spin, the all-rounder gave away just 26 runs in his four overs, becoming the most economical bowler in the match. He also took the important wicket of Suryakumar Yadav to derail MI’s chase.
Hardik, too, did well individually but was not good enough to take his team over the victory line. He was the second-highest scorer for MI with 40 off 22 balls but the team fell short by 18 runs while trying to chase down 241. He was also good with the ball, taking the wicket of Virat Kohli while giving away only 39 runs in his four overs.
In the battle of brothers, Krunal bowled four deliveries to Hardik, who scored three runs in them. Even last year, Krunal had played a stellar role in RCB’s victory over MI with four wickets.
To me, this isn't exactly a tough choice to make. If they are truly committed to the cause, they will fight on and learn from the mistakes that have been made.
Cricket is a team sport. As such, it's really harsh to put the blame on a singular player. Captaincy decisions aren't always perfect. Sometimes it works and other times, it doesn't.
It's always fun to see family members play against each other. Seeing them play together can get mundane at times.