Former Indian spinner R Ashwin has spoken openly about Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s poor form with the bat. Pandya has scored only 96 runs in five matches in IPL 2026.
Apart from his poor form, Pandya has also had to deal with the poor form of his team. Mumbai Indians made an auspicious start to the season by winning their first match, but suffered four consecutive defeats before bouncing back with a 99-run win against Gujarat Titans on 20 April.
“He will start opening with the bat too”: Ashwin on Hardik Pandya’s poor performance
Ashwin – who has played 106 Tests for India – reiterated a common refrain about the Mumbai Indians team, saying that once Pandya finds his hold with the bat, the MI franchise will be very difficult to stop.
“remember that hardik pandya Haven’t opened with the bat yet. He will start opening with the bat also. It’s just a matter of one innings. If they get good hits in an innings then it will be very difficult to stop this team. If this team starts firing then it will be very difficult to stop them. Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Mumbai Indians suffered a similar setback in IPL 2025 also. Last year, the Hardik Pandya-led side won just one of their first five matches but won seven of their next nine matches to book their place in the playoffs, where Punjab Kings ended their journey.
“That pressure comes into your batting as well” – R Ashwin
Speaking further, Ashwin said that the team’s lack of success meant that Hardik Pandya was taking pressure on himself as captain and it was affecting his batting.
“Hardik Pandya was not getting wins as captain, and there was pressure on him, and that pressure comes into your batting as well. With this win, chances are high that Hardik Pandya will find his magic with the bat.” he adds.
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Not just with the bat, Hardik Pandya’s form with the ball has also been indifferent in IPL 2026. In five matches, he has taken just three wickets at an economy rate of around 12 runs per over.
“A very strong opening combination” – R Ashwin
Ashwin also highlighted the importance of Mumbai Indians continuing with their strong opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.
“This win was important for MI, and also important for the IPL. Look, they have a good team, and the way MI were losing to this team, they will be really upset about it. When you have Quinton de Kock, you have to keep him going even after Rohit Sharma comes in. I agree Quinton de Kock is a very good player, but de Kock is de Kock. That’s the absolute last thing. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have a very strong opening. Will make a combination.”
Former captain Rohit Sharma has been out of Mumbai’s last two matches due to injury. In fact, his injury cleared the way for De Kock to come into the team. De Kock scored a century in his first match of IPL 2026 and made a strong case to replace the struggling Ryan Rickelton, who did not play the match against GT.
upcoming matches of mi
Mumbai Indians will take on their arch-rivals and fellow five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on April 23. This match is being called the ‘El Clasico’ of the IPL, but MI is currently placed seventh while CSK is placed eighth in the points table, with both the teams having won just two out of six matches.