Ashwin Defends Hardik Pandya Amid MI's IPL 2026 Struggles

MI, who have won just four of their 12 matches this season, were the second team to be eliminated from playoff contention, with their captain struggling with form and injury.

"I wouldn't review his captaincy this year at all. 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're asking him to do a little too much," Ashwin told ESPNcricinfo.

Ashwin highlighted the context of Pandya's return to MI in 2024 after a successful stint with the Gujarat Titans, where he led the franchise to a title and a runners-up finish.

"He was there at 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 Mumbai Indians, he had to deal with quite a bit. It's not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five (six) titles in the IPL. He's won a T20 World Cup. And Hardik comes and replaces him. You've got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive the social media these days," Ashwin added.

Ashwin also stressed that captaincy is not solely responsible for a team's failures as he said, "I wouldn't judge his captaincy much because the bowling has also leaked (runs in) every direction. Every single time an over is bowled for six or seven runs, in comes a 15-run over. So what do you do as a captain? And sure, he's made some calls that have been debatable. (But) captaincy is the result of how your team is making you look. So which is why I believe when you have a good season, don't give too much credit to a captain. When you have a bad season, don't pin it on him. And similar with the coach; the coach sends the players out. So you can't blame him too much."

This season, Pandya's struggles have been stark. Since returning to MI as captain in 2024, he has yet to win a trophy for the franchise. In IPL 2026, he scored just 146 runs from eight innings at a strike rate of 136.44, with a best of 40, and took only four wickets at an economy of 11.90.

Beyond leadership, Ashwin expressed concern about Pandya's batting, noting unusual timing issues, stating, "With his (Hardik's) batting, I found something quite interesting and strange, which is how late he's been on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We wouldn't be able to know that if there is something, then maybe that physical aspect will bring him back. And if he gets better, he'll come back to it. But he's been late on the hard-length deliveries."

"He's not someone who's going to miss hard-length deliveries. He hits it 15 rows back. That's a bit of a concern for me, whether he's 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 team has also struggled collectively, with other stars like Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah having similarly modest campaigns. Pandya has additionally been sidelined due to a reported back issue, missing three games, with Suryakumar and Bumrah stepping in as stand-in captains. Despite the struggles, Ashwin reaffirmed Pandya's value.

"Hardik is a once-in-a-generation player. You don't find such players. And if India finds itself in a certain T20 mastery now, Hardik's been a linchpin in that. And to me, Hardik, the player, you can have a bad season. It's digestible for me. Especially after you had a (T20) World Cup like that. Hardik likes a bit of space. He kind of stays in his own zone. So the only thing I'd be worried about is how late he's been on the ball when he's batting. Apart from that, it's okay. I wouldn't judge any of the other aspects of his game," the former India spinner mentioned.

- IANS