Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said it would not be fair to put the blame on captain Hardik Pandya for Mumbai Indians’ tumultuous IPL 2026 season. MI was knocked out of the tournament after they suffered a two-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya hasn’t been able to lead from the front with both bat and ball. Pandya has scalped four wickets in eight matches whereas he has scored 146 runs in as many games. The MI skipper hasn’t played in the last three matches due to an injury.

However, Ashwin reckons Mumbai Indians haven’t been able to come up with a collective effort throughout the season, and the blame shouldn’t be put solely on the captain.

Ashwin said on ESPN Cricinfo, “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. He was there at Gujarat Titans. Had two fabulous seasons. So clearly as a leader he did something right there.

“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,” the 39-year-old went on to add.

The former CSK spinner said the MI bowlers haven’t been able to deliver the goods for the franchise.

“Bowling has 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.”