Mumbai Indians endured a horror IPL 2026 as they finished ninth in the points table after their 10th loss of the season to Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, May 24. Hardik Pandya's captaincy at the franchise has taken centre stage after he failed to lead them into the playoffs in two of the three seasons since taking over in 2024. He might have to answer a few questions regarding his leadership, as batting coach Kieron Pollard stressed on his captaincy.
Speaking after MI's loss to RR at home, Pollard emphasised that Hardik's leadership has not gone in line with what he or the franchise wanted. "From a leadership perspective on Hardik, yes, it has not gone as well as he would have wanted as an individual," Pollard said after the 30-run loss. "It might not have gone the way we as a management group would have wanted either. But one thing you should know is that we tried everything possible to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise and succeed."
Pollard feels Pandya tried but it didn't work
While the former MI all-rounder emphasised Hardik's captaincy, he did not single him out for being the sole reason behind the team's yet another poor season, where they finished ninth in the 10-team points table."“No one is going to sit here and point fingers or place blame. When you lose, especially, you have to look at it collectively. You win some, you lose some. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t question the effort," he said.
"He (Pandya) was trying; we all were trying, and it just didn’t work out for us. You sit down, you talk, and you figure out what is best moving forward. You never know what is going to happen. Right now, we just need time to lick our wounds and hopefully come back stronger over the next 12 months," Pollard added.
MI not to rush decisions after disastrous campaign, Pollard highlights
The batting coach further hinted that the franchise would conduct an internal review but would not rush into decisions. "Right now is not the time or place to talk about that," Pollard said on being asked whether the team needs a reboot considering the number of senior members in the squad.
"All these decisions can become emotional if taken immediately. Everyone needs time and space to sit down, reflect properly and fairly assess where things actually went wrong for us. That is where better decision-making comes from. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this or that, it would be irresponsible from a management perspective," he added.
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