IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians had one of the worst campaigns in the history of Indian Premier League 2026 as they finished ninth on the points table with just four wins and eight points from 14 matches. They concluded their disappointing season with a 30-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Mumbai Indians, chasing a daunting target of 206, again failed to deliver under pressure and fell well short. The defeat was their 10th of the season and only raised more questions around Hardik Pandya’s captaincy.
Hardik Pandya Got The Best Opportunity
Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard spoke to the media after the loss and said that it had not been the season Pandya would have liked as captain.
“From a leadership perspective on Hardik, yes, it has not gone as well as he would have wanted as an individual,” Pollard told reporters after the match.
“It might not have gone how we would have wanted as a management staff. But one thing you (should) know that we have tried everything to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise, to do well,” he added.
Pandya had a lot of pressure on his shoulders when he took over the leadership in IPL 2026 but the Mumbai Indians failed to maintain consistency with both bat and ball in the tournament.
Not Hardik Alone, Pollard Calls It A Collective Failure
But Pollard was not going to let the captain take the fall for the disastrous campaign, saying the whole squad and support staff needed to be held accountable.
“No one is going to sit here and put blame on point fingers. When you lose, especially, you have to look at it from a collective perspective. You win some, you lose some. But, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t question certain things,” Pollard said.
“He (Pandya) was trying; we all were trying, and it just didn’t work out for us. You sit, you talk, (and) see what is (for the) best. Never know what is going to happen. For us, let us just lick our wounds in (this) time and hopefully come back stronger in the 12 months,” he added.
The biggest surprise this season was the sharp decline of the Mumbai Indians, who finished third in the IPL 2025 and were rated as one of the strongest contenders heading into the new campaign.
Will Mumbai Indians Change Hardik Pandya As Their Captain?
The poor results have naturally led to speculation around whether Mumbai Indians would consider a change in captaincy for IPL 2027. However, Pollard said the franchise would avoid making any emotional decisions right after the season.
“Right now, it’s not the time and place to talk about that,” Pollard said.
“All these things would be sort of emotional decisions and thinking of every aspect of what is needed; everyone needs that time and space to go sit down, recollect, have a fair assessment as to where everything actually went wrong for us.”
“That is where better decision-making is going to come about. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this, you need to do that, that would be irresponsible from a management perspective,” he added.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
