Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Hardik has come out in support of Pandya amid growing criticism over his disappointing Indian Premier League 2026 campaign as a captain with Mumbai Indians (MI).
Hardik has endured a tough season as both captain and player, with MI becoming one of the first teams to be eliminated from the playoff race. The all-rounder has also been ruled out of the franchise's last three matches due to a back problem, further escalating speculation over his future with the five-time champions.
The great Indian off-spinner believes it is unfair to blame only Hardik for Mumbai's struggle this season, as he feels the entire team was at fault for not performing at their best.
“I wouldn't be reviewing his captaincy at all this year. To be honest, when you have a season like this, it's quite unfair to put the blame on the captain. Nobody has come through. The team has failed to perform well and taking the blame for Hardik on yourself… you are asking him to do too much,” Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo's Timeout show.
The experienced spinner highlights the immense pressure ahead Heartfelt Rohit faced constant social media criticism after being replaced as MI captain and advised him to stay mentally strong.
“It is not easy to replace the current Indian captain, a white-ball captain like Rohit Sharma. Five [six] He has won one T20 World Cup title in IPL. And Hardik comes and takes his place. You have a lot of fans across the country. You have to have a thick skin to survive on social media these days,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin concluded by saying that captaincy often depends on how well the team performs collectively and he stressed that no single individual should be blamed for a poor campaign.
He said, “I will not overestimate his captaincy because the bowling has also leaked.” [runs in] Every direction. Every time an over is bowled for six or seven runs, an over of 15 runs is scored. So what do you do as a captain? And of course, he has made some calls which have been controversial,'' Ashwin said.
“Captaincy is a result of how your team treats you. So I believe when you have a good season, don't give too much credit to the captain. When you have a bad season, don't blame him,” he concluded.
Hardik's performance in IPL 2026 has been very poor so far. In eight innings, he has scored 146 runs at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44, while taking only four wickets at an economy rate of 11.90.
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