Should MI move away from Hardik Pandya as captain after Qualifier 2 loss against PBKS in IPL 2025?

Mumbai Indians, arguably one of the best teams in IPL 2025, failed to match pre-season expectations, which led a part of cricket fans to raise a question: 'Should Mumbai Indians remove Hardik Pandya from the captaincy role?'

In utter disbelief, Pandya was down on his haunches after Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings knocked them out of the tournament. In back-to-back second seasons, the five-time IPL champion franchise, Mumbai Indians unable to reach the final of the Indian Premier League, and in both of the seasons, Pandya was the skipper. A team with so many internally established cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, and Trent Boult that underperforms for repeated seasons, then the management should spare some time for scrutiny. Currently, all eyes are on the MI captain and Mumbai Indians management to see their next move before IPL 2026. 

There are multiple reasons why MI should move on from Pandya; check the list here:

1) Support he got this season: Unlike IPL 2024, the fans of Mumbai Indians fully backed Hardik Pandya throughout the season. Last season, when the all-rounder traded from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai, it created a heavy controversy. MI fans welcomed Pandya with continuous trolling and hatred on and off the field; that definitely put extra pressure on a player's mental health. This season, the scenario is completely different. Pandya got every tool to conduct a successful season, but he couldn't. 

Read More: Shreyas Iyer’s Captaincy Chronicle: A legacy worth remembering

2) Bunch of well-recognized cricketers: The playing combination is mostly decorated with stars and players who made their names in T20, like Tilak Verma. On the other hand, the core of Punjab Kings mainly depends on multiple uncapped players who barely have any internal recognition. When a team with Bumrah, Yadav, Sharma, or Pandya himself went down, critics will definitely raise questions for the skipper. 

3) Pandya's on-field decision as a captain: After a successful stint with Gujarat, MI traded him to replace Rohit Sharma as the leader. But how's the performance of Pandya as an MI captain? His on-file decisions are now under review. Last night, when Reece Topley or Ashwani Kumar were struggling hard against Punjab batters, why did Pandya not opt to introduce Santner or himself as a tactical move? The question remains. 

4) Suryakumar Yadav as a possible replacement: After the era of Captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav could be an automatic choice. Under his leadership, the Men in Blue have won 17 out of their 22 T20Is, and Yadav, as a batter for Mumbai, is a consistent performer. So, MI management has the option to replace Pandya.