Ashwin Defends Hardik Pandya Amid MI's IPL 2026 Struggles, Says "Nobody Turned Up"

Since his controversial return to the MI as a captain in 2024, Hardik is yet to win a trophy for the franchise after leading the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the gold and has not had a massive impact with the bat and ball either. This season, with the team placed in the bottom half with just four wins in 12 games, MI is out of playoff contention.

Hardik himself has struggled to score runs at the scoring rates he is known for and was unable to be a wicket-taker for his team. He has scored just 146 runs in eight innings at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of over 136, with a best score of 40. He has also taken just four wickets at an average of 61.50 and an economy rate of almost 12.

"I would not review his captaincy this year at all," R Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut. "Honestly, when you have seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is quite unfair. Nobody has turned up. The team has failed to turn up, and for Hardik to take the blame on himself is... You are asking him to do a little too much," he added.

Several high-profile stars have not turned up for MI this season, with Suryakumar Yadav (195 runs in 11 innings with a fifty at a strike rate of 144.44), Sherfane Rutherford (123 runs in seven innings, with best score of 71*), Jasprit Bumrah (three wickets in 12 matches), Deepak Chahar (five wickets in six matches) and Trent Boult (two wickets in five matches) having produced poor seasons. Injuries to Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Santner, two of the franchise's key players, have not helped the team either.

Ashwin pointed out that as a leader, "he did something right" in GT and highlighted the social media trial and trolling he faced on his return to Blue and Gold, replacing five-time title-winning skipper and massive fan favourite Rohit Sharma as a captain.

"He was there at the Gujarat Titans. Had two fabulous seasons (one title and one runners-up finish). So clearly, as a leader, he did something right there. And when he returned to the Mumbai Indians, he had to deal with quite a bit. It is not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five [six] titles in the IPL. He has won a T20 World Cup. And Hardik comes and replaces him. You have got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive social media these days," said Ashwin.

Ashwin, however, has questions about Hardik's physical fitness based on his batting performances and how late he has been in playing the deliveries, especially the hard length ones. He has expressed concerns if Hardik is facing something as serious as a tennis elbow or if his bat is just too heavy.

"With his [Hardik's] batting, I found something quite interesting and strange, which is how late he has been on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We would not be able to know that if there is something, then maybe that physical aspect will bring him back. And if he gets better, he will come back to it. But he has been late on the hard-length deliveries," he said.

"He is not someone who's going to miss hard-length deliveries. He hits it 15 rows back. That is a bit of a concern for me, whether he is suffering something physically from a back issue or hands, or does he have a tennis elbow? Is his bat heavier (than it should be)? Does he need to recalibrate that? Those are things that I would want to know," he added.

The former Indian all-rounder said that Hardik is a "once-in-a-generation" player and he has been the linchpin of India's T20I juggernaut, which has won two back-to-back World Cups. Ashwin said that Hardik, with all he has done for India on the grand stage, can have a poor season.

"Hardik likes a bit of space. He kind of stays in his own zone. So the only thing I would be worried about is how late he is on the ball when he has been batting. Apart from that, it is okay. I would not judge any of the other aspects of his game," Ashwin said.

- ANI