Former Team India cricketer Manoj Tiwari criticized Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya for his disappointing performance in IPL 2026. Tiwari said that to improve the team’s results, the all-rounder should step down from the role and hand over the leadership responsibility to former captain Rohit Sharma.
MI posted a total of 195/6 at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 16. Quinton de Kock scored an unbeaten 112 and Naman Dheer scored a crucial 50. However, Punjab Kings (PBKS) chased down the target with ease, with Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer handing MI their fourth consecutive defeat.
It is very important to be active as a captain – Manoj Tiwari criticizes Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya criticized his teammates after their fourth consecutive defeat and asked them to take responsibility for their poor performance. Manoj Tiwary disagreed with these comments and questioned Pandya’s own performances and tactical decisions this season.
Tiwary also told how Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to success. The former batsman described the current captaincy’s approach as weak and urged Pandya to be more proactive.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Tiwary said, “Where will the ownership come from? You have to look at yourself as well. You have to look at how you are playing. According to me, just because you are not getting success this year, it does not mean that mistakes have happened only this year. You also need to look at the root cause. From 2015-2023, Rohit Sharma helped Mumbai Indians win many trophies.”
He said, “There was no trophy in 2023. There was no trophy in 2024 and the same is likely to happen this year too. I think the captaincy is weak. I don’t want to be harsh. But Hardik is not leading the team the way he should. It is very important to be active as a captain.”
Hardik Pandya should not have promoted himself – Manoj Tiwari
Mumbai Indians were in a good position at 134/3 in the 14th over after Naman Dheer scored 50 runs. However, during the death overs, Hardik Pandya moved himself up to No. 5 ahead of Sherfane Rutherford. Manoj Tiwari criticized this decision after Pandya scored only 14 runs in 12 balls.
Tiwari said, “Hardik should not have promoted himself against Punjab Kings. He scored 14 runs off 12 balls. Sherfane Rutherford got just five balls. If Rutherford had played that many balls, he would have hit 3-4 sixes. Hardik Pandya thought he could do that. Yes, he could have done that.”
Rutherford played a strong inning of 71 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but against Punjab Kings he faced only five balls. Meanwhile, MI’s middle-order struggled, with Suryakumar Yadav out for a golden duck and Tilak Verma out after scoring just eight runs.
There is no point in giving second over to Jasprit Bumrah – Manoj Tiwari
Manoj Tiwary also questioned the bowling strategies used by Hardik Pandya. He criticized the decision to start with Deepak Chahar while delaying the use of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay. Tiwari said that Pandya should consider handing over the role back to Rohit Sharma.
“You should have pushed Rutherford up. And secondly, there is no point in giving Jasprit Bumrah the second over when you are not even giving him the first over. Deepak Chahar is not able to swing the ball,” Tiwary said.
“Shreyas Iyer showed excellent captaincy, whereas Mumbai Indians’ captaincy was very weak. I think if a solution is needed then Hardik should step down from the captaincy and hand the responsibility back to Rohit. When you removed Rohit, you did injustice.”” he concluded.
Pandya also struggled with the ball and gave away 39 runs in three overs. The all-rounder took over as the captain of Mumbai Indians in 2024 and is leading the team for the third season.
Also read: Jasprit Bumrah is bowling at a speed of 130 km per hour: Irfan Pathan made a brutal attack during IPL 2026
