Former CSK and Mumbai Indians legend Ambati Rayudu has taken a dig at current MI captain Hardik Pandya and asked him to stop being ‘arrogant’. Pandya is struggling for form with both bat and ball in IPL 2026. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians are currently struggling at the ninth position in the points table.
This year Hardik Pandya is in very bad form with both bat and ball. He has scored only 146 runs in 8 matches at an average of 21 and strike rate of 136. His highest score has been just 40.
Hardik Pandya’s poor form in IPL 2026
The situation with the ball has been even worse. He has taken only 4 wickets this year and his average wicket per wicket is 61.5. Hardik’s economy rate of around 12 runs per over is also not helping him.
Hardik’s batting problems were on full display during his team’s defeat to CSK on May 2. He struggled to put bat to ball and scored just 18 runs in 23 balls. Mumbai Indians could also score only 159/7 runs, which CSK achieved easily.
“You need to realize and accept when you are not in form” – Rayudu tells Hardik Pandya
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo after the match, Rayudu explained what exactly might have troubled Pandya and how he could have avoided it. Rayudu also talked about the need to be smart in moments of poor form.
“It happens to most batsmen at some point in their careers. The only thing is that you need to find a way and also realize and accept that I am not in form. You probably have to rotate the strike a little more, move away from the strike, choose your moments and bowlers and be smart about it rather than being arrogant,” he said.
Rayudu talked about what Pandya should have done differently at this time. Regarding Hardik, Rayudu said, “A lot of these middle to lower order batsmen pull the ball mostly towards the on side.”
He added, “And when you are not used to the ball going away from you, especially during the last 6-7 overs, you are not prepared to hit point or use the pace on the off side. That is what he should have done. He should have taken a little bit of space and maybe tried to hit the bowler over point or third-man.”
Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
Not just Hardik Pandya, most of the other MI players are also out of form. Therefore MI is unable to field a completely organized line-up. Bad form has also brought the captaincy of Hardik Pandya under question.
Right now, MI has just 2 wins in 9 matches and a losing streak of three matches. They have already lost four in a row once this season. In their next match, MI will take on tenth-placed Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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