Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwari has said that Mumbai Indians' The season is virtually over in IPL 2026 after suffering their seventh defeat of the season to Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Tiwari further said hardik pandya Having lost the dressing room, the rest of the team has failed to live up to their captain. Hardik has had a poor season with both bat and ball, scoring only 146 runs in eight matches and taking only four wickets. Hardik's captaincy has been under scrutiny throughout the season, and during the loss to Punjab Kings, Jasprit Bumrah was seen expressing his disappointment over the MI skipper's call.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Tiwary said, “For me, it's definitely over; in fact, for me, it was over a long time ago. As you know, whenever we sit down to discuss, we talk quite openly and candidly with each other. I base my comments and observations on what I'm seeing on the field. And, in my opinion – given the kind of cricket we've seen, it appears to be fundamental. There's something wrong with the look.”
“Look, a captain has to win the trust of every single player in the team; you have to step up and be a true leader. Okay? However, looking at the situation, it seems like no one is really standing by Hardik. It seems like no one is standing behind him; the kind of support he should be getting is not happening.
“Yes, the captain certainly has a specific role to play – and perhaps, he is not playing that role as effectively as he could. From my perspective, he is not up to the task. But beyond that, the players themselves have to do their part,” Tiwary said.
He also highlighted how star international players like Suryakumar Yadav Tilak Verma Has not performed. Tilak has scored 193 runs in nine matches, including a brilliant century against Gujarat Titans, while Suryakumar has scored 183 runs in the same period, including just one half-century.
“Take Suryakumar, for example: he is not delivering performances on a consistent, match-by-match basis. Similarly, Tilak had an exceptional match, but he has not been scoring runs since. If this kind of inconsistency continues among the rest of the team, how can you expect to get positive results? This is, frankly, very disappointing,” Tiwari said.
Mumbai Indians are almost out of the race for the playoffs in IPL 2026, they will have to win their next five matches, which will take them to 14 points. They will take on Lucknow Supergiants in their next match on May 4 at the Wankhede Stadium.
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