‘Hardik should say no to captaincy, let the leadership baton be handed over to this player’, demands former batter

MUMBAI: Only days are left for the IPL 2026 season. Mumbai Indians, the most popular franchise, is led by all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Hardik was appointed captain in December 2023, replacing Rohit Sharma, who had been leading the team for a long time.

Hardik was the captain of Gujarat Titans in their first IPL season in 2022 and led them to the title. Hardik was made the captain of Mumbai Indians after he joined the team in 2023. Fans were not happy over it. There were rumors that there was a dispute between Hardik and Rohit then. In his first season as captain in 2024, Mumbai was in a last place finish that season. However, despite improving a little in the 2025 season, Mumbai was eliminated in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, former Indian opener K Srikkanth has come forward demanding that Twenty20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, who is playing with Hardik in Mumbai this season, be made the captain. Srikkanth made this demand on his YouTube channel. Srikkanth said that Mumbai's captaincy is a bit strange and how can two World Cup-winning captains play under Hardik. This is also the time when Suryakumar Yadav will be in the spotlight after winning the 2026 T20 World Cup.

‘The franchise owners and the team management, along with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, should come together. They should ask Sury to lead this time to see if there is any luck in the team. They can do it anytime and doesn't have to do it right now. Mumbai is in an interesting situation right now. Hardik Pandya is a good captain, but have two World Cup-winning captains playing with Hardik. They need to fix some things within the team. Surya should be given the reins to see if it changes the team’s fortunes, but this could be their franchise policy,’ said Srikkanth.

Srikkanth wants Hardik to hand over the captaincy to Surya. Srikkanth also believes that if Hardik himself tells the management this, the problems will be resolved. Srikkanth, who is also a former BCCI selector, has made it clear that he will support Surya if he leads Mumbai Indians.