The five-time IPL champions wound up their league engagements in IPL-2026 on a disappointing note, going down to Rajasthan Royals by 30 runs. The result left the 27,000 under-privileged kids, who had been brought to the stadium in specially-arranged buses, go back home a bit dejected. It was the second time after 2024 that MI have lost five matches at the Wankhede Stadium at home-once considered their fortress.
Soon after MI signed off from IPL-2026 with 10 defeats and just four wins in 14 matches to finish at the ninth position (at the time of writing this), the team’s batting coach and former West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard summed up MI’s season of woes aptly. “We weren’t good throughout the entire tournament. We weren’t able to string together wins and use the momentum when we got it. At the end of it, when you look at it rationally, I think we got the position that we deserve in terms of the type of cricket that we played,” Pollard said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
The former West Indies T20 star made it clear that the management wasn’t entirely sure about continuing with India’s star allrounder Hardik Pandya as their captain.
“Yes, it might not have gone as well as he would have wanted, what we would have wanted but I wouldn’t question anything at this time. Twelve months ago, we finished third. Now again, we finished ninth. Those are the inconsistencies we will have to address. We will sit and talk, lick our wounds and hopefully come back stronger in 12 months’ time,” Pollard replied, when quizzed about Hardik’s leadership performance with MI.
“He was trying. We all were trying. And it just didn’t work out for us. From a leadership perspective, yes, it has not gone maybe as well as Hardik would have wanted as an individual. It might not have gone what we would have wanted as a management staff. But one thing you know that we have tried each and everything to give the best opportunity to lead the franchise, to do well,” he added.
However, Pollard made it clear that Hardik alone couldn’t alone be blamed for the team’s below-par show. “Again, no one is going to sit here and put blame or point fingers. I think when you lose especially, you have to look at it from a collective perspective. He was trying. We all were trying. And it just didn’t work out for us. Again, you sit, you talk, see what’s best. Never know what’s going to happen. For us, let’s just lick our wounds in the meantime and hopefully come back stronger in 12 months’ time,” Pollard asserted.
Two years back, MI brought Hardik back to their fold and replaced Rohit Sharma with him as the captain, but the change in leadership hasn’t brought about the desired results. MI finished 10th and last in IPL-2024, with just four wins and 10 defeats, though they did better in IPL-2025, making it to the playoffs and finishing third. The results in 2026 have again been dismal.
Hardik’s personal form and fitness too has been under the scanner. All he managed to take was four wickets in 10 matches@64.75, at an economy rate of 11.42, besides scoring just 206 runs@22.88, with a strike rate of 138.25. He missed a couple of matches due to a stiff back, and didn’t bowl as RR recovered from 139 for six in the 16th over to post 205 for eight in 20 overs. Considering the prevailing heat and humidity, even his decision to field first in an afternoon game seemed to be questionable.
In the last two matches, Hardik appeared cleared frustrated with his teammates, making his displeasure known when a catch fell between Deepak Chahar and Robin Minz in the deep off his bowling during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, and when wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton messed up a run out opportunity off his throw from the deep.
MI will also have to think deep and hard about how long they want to stick to their former captain Rohit Sharma. On Sunday, Rohit was out for a four-ball duck after edging behind a Jofra Archer outswinger while executing a loose drive. The 39-year-old’s fitness came under the scanner during this IPL as he missed a few matches due to the recurrence of a hamstring injury, and played almost all the matches as an ‘Impact Player.’ Looking leaner and fitter when he came into IPL-2026, Rohit blasted off with a match-winning 78 off just 38 balls which helped MI chase down 221 against KKR which helped MI finally end their jinx of losing the opening match of the season. However, the former India captain signed off with 283 runs in nine matches@35.37, at a strike rate of 157.22, with two fifties.
Do Mumbai Indians need a reboot, especially in terms of age profile? “Again, that’s 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 this, you need to do that, I think that would be irresponsible from a management perspective. It’s not something I’m sure that we are going to do right in this present time,” Pollard replied.