Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull said that Hardik Pandya has struggled as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain after replacing Rohit Sharma. Doull said that Pandya has not established strong authority in the Mumbai Indians dressing room since returning from his captaincy stint with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL.
Mumbai Indians are ninth in the 10-team points table with just four points from eight matches. They recently faced defeat by six wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad (MI) despite scoring 243 runs. Mumbai Indians’ bowling lineup, which also includes Jasprit Bumrah, has struggled throughout the tournament.
Hardik Pandya was a cub who played in the pride of lions – Simon Doull
Simon Doull compared the dressing room of Mumbai Indians to a pride of lions. He said that Hardik Pandya first played a supporting role and then successfully led Gujarat Titans, but he has struggled while trying to replace Rohit Sharma as the established leader.
“When they were in their pomp before the new teams came in, it was like a pride of lions and Hardik was like a cub,” Doull said on Cricbuzz after the defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“He was a cub who played in a pride of lions that went away, and did a great job in GT with a franchise he could own and control. He came back, basically tried to fight the king of the pride for the king’s job, and it didn’t work out,” he added.
It becomes a difficult environment to control – Simon Doull
Simon Doull criticized the Mumbai Indians management for including Hardik Pandya in place of Rohit Sharma. He said that it is difficult to handle a dressing room full of established international captains, such an environment can create doubts on the current leadership.
“There has to be some accountability from the top; they made this decision. They made this decision and they allowed him to come back to a very successful team. And now in that dressing room … in that environment, you have four guys who can be kings,” Doull said.
He said, “Four people have captained their country at different stages. It’s a very difficult room; it’s full of alphas. Everyone will be looking around. I wonder if he would do a better job… I can do a better job. It becomes a difficult environment to control.”
They have to take responsibility for what has happened – Simon Doull
Simon Doull further said that the ownership of Mumbai Indians should take responsibility for their poor results in the last three seasons. Hardik Pandya has faced heavy scrutiny for his poor performances this season.
“The ownership manager, he has to take responsibility for what has happened in three years. One year may be a shock, but this is a side that has won five titles in 20 years of the tournament. They have won a quarter,” Doull concluded.
Hardik Pandya’s IPL 2026 campaign has been a mixed one with both bat and ball. He has scored 128 runs in seven innings at an average of 21.33 and strike rate of 152.38. With the ball, Pandya has taken four wickets in seven innings at an average of 57.25 and an economy rate of 12.26.
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