New Delhi : The disappointment among fans was visible when Rohit Sharma was replaced as captain by Hardik Pandya for the Mumbai Indians. Although the booing from the 2024 season to the 2026 season and social media backlash had calmed down, the performance from the side continues to be below par. They had a season to forget in 2024, in 2025, they reached the qualifier 2 and got undone by Shreyas Iyer’s mavericks, and in the ongoing season, they are lining up at the ninth spot, having won two games from eight.
Former New Zealand cricketer and broadcaster Simon Doull opined that the responsibility for the poor performances has to be taken right from the top of the food chain. He explained why Hardik’s captaincy has worked at the Gujarat Titans when he won in the 2022 season and has not worked at the Mumbai Indians.
“When they were in their pomp before the new teams came in, it was like a pride of lions, and Hardik was like a cub. He was a cub who played the role in the pride of lions that went away, and did a great job at GT with a franchise which he could own and control. He came back, basically tried to fight the king of the pride for the reigning job…for the king’s job, and it did not work,” Doull said on Cricbuzz after the loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“There has to be some accountability from the very top; they made that decision. They made that call they allowed him back into what was a very successful team. And now in that dressing room…in that environment, you’ve got four blokes who could all be the king. Four guys have captained their country at different stages. It is a very difficult room; it is full of alphas. Everybody will be looking around. I wonder if he would do a better job…I could do a better job. It becomes a hard environment to control,” he added.
“Ownership manager, they have to take responsibility for what has happened over three years. One year can be a blip, but this has been the side that has won five titles in the 20 years of the tournament. They have won a quarter,” Doull concluded.
“Ownership manager, they have to take responsibility for what has happened over three years. One year can be a blip, but this has been the side that has won five titles in the 20 years of the tournament. They have won a quarter,” Doull concluded.
