IPL 2026 | ‘Not straightforward to switch Rohit Sharma’: Ashwin defends Hardik Pandya amid Mumbai Indians struggles

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians have endured a disappointing IPL 2026 marketing campaign. The five-time champions, who gained all their titles underneath former skipper Rohit Sharma, are already out of the playoff race after managing simply 4 wins in 12 matches whereas struggling eight defeats.One of many main speaking factors surrounding Mumbai Indians’ poor season has been the type of captain Hardik Pandya, who has struggled with the bat. Pandya has scored 146 runs in eight matches at a median of 20.85 and a strike fee of 136.44. With criticism mounting over each his batting and captaincy, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got here out in assist of the all-rounder, calling it unfair to position the blame solely on him.“I would not assessment his captaincy this 12 months in any respect. Truthfully, when you’ve got seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is sort of unfair. No person has turned up, the crew has failed to show up. And for Hardik to take the blame on himself is asking a bit an excessive amount of. He was there at Gujarat Titans and had two fabulous seasons,” Ashwin stated on ESPNCricinfo.Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians in 2024, this time as captain, changing Rohit Sharma. Earlier than his transfer to Gujarat Titans in 2022, Pandya had already been part of the Mumbai Indians setup from 2015 to 2021. He led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title of their debut season in 2022 after which guided them to the ultimate once more in 2023.Ashwin believes changing a extremely profitable captain like Rohit Sharma was by no means going to be straightforward. Rohit guided Mumbai Indians to IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, establishing himself as one of many league’s most profitable captains.Pandya’s appointment as MI captain in 2024 additionally triggered sturdy reactions from followers, with the all-rounder dealing with boos throughout the season.“So clearly, as a frontrunner, he did one thing proper there (Gujarat Titans). And when he got here again to Mumbai Indians, he is needed to take care of fairly a bit. It is not straightforward to switch an incumbent Indian white-ball captain comparable to Rohit Sharma. 5 IPL titles, he’s gained a T20 World Cup, and Hardik is available in and replaces him. You have received lots of fandom across the nation,” Ashwin stated.“You should have thick pores and skin to outlive social media as of late. I believe he is gone by means of fairly a bit in his private life as nicely. I would not decide his captaincy an excessive amount of as a result of the bowling has additionally leaked runs in each path. Each single time an over goes for six or seven runs, alongside comes a 15-run over. So what do you do as a captain? Certain, he is made some calls which were debatable. There was a time in Mumbai when there was a brief boundary on the leg facet. You do not wish to bowl the twentieth over from that finish. However he selected to bowl the twentieth over from that facet, with the sector placement on the incorrect finish when the innings began. So these items can occur. They will pile up one after the opposite,” he stated.Mumbai Indians didn’t qualify for the playoffs in 2024 after Pandya took cost. They bounced again in 2025 and reached Qualifier 2 earlier than shedding to Punjab Kings. Nevertheless, the 2026 season has once more ended with no playoff berth for the franchise.“Captaincy is usually a results of how your crew makes you look. Which is why I imagine that when you’ve got an excellent season, do not give an excessive amount of credit score to the captain. And when you’ve got a foul season, do not pin all of it on him,” Ashwin stated.