Hardik Pandya, one of the World Cup heroes for India, has always been a very special player for the Men in Blue across formats at several ICC tournaments. Pandya had a very decent season with both bat and ball in the World Cup, with his biggest contributions being wickets against Pakistan and his 3-fer that also included Miller’s wicket, which won India the spine-chilling T20 World Cup final. With this, India ended their 13-year drought without a World Cup trophy.
However, just three weeks after the great World Cup triumph, Hardik’s world has turned upside down. With a shattered personal life, Pandya was recently snubbed of the captaincy role for India’s T20I. Suryakumar was appointed as the recent successor of retiring skipper Rohit Sharma; this marked a major setback in the all-rounder’s career.
Now, after his major setback at the international level, what will be his future with the IPL’s most successful franchise? Pandya left MI for a big-budget move to the Gujarat Titans in 2022, and in their debut season, the exceptional all-rounder led them to a trophy triumph. After taking the Titans to yet another final in 2023, he was brought back to the Mumbai Indians camp and took over Rohit’s position.
Hardik did not receive the best of receptions from the MI crowd, as he was disgusted over the behavior of the crowd all over India. Hardik even could not up the morale of the team, as despite having one of the finest teams in the competition, the Mumbai Indians ended last in the points table. After having a disastrous season, it was often said that Hardik could be snubbed of such a crucial role.
With the IPL 2025 probably being a mega auction, there are high chances of Rohit Sharma leaving the MI den after 15 long seasons with the franchise team. MI would surely prioritize having him back; however, it would depend on whether the World Cup-winning skipper would want to continue his tenure with the team, especially when teams like the Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, and Gujarat Titans have shown prior interest in the veteran.
The BCCI has yet to declare how many retentions each team can make, and so MI needs to set their priorities straight. However, they also have a blockbuster batter and India’s recently announced T20 skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, in their roster.
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SKY can be vital for retention, and he would also have a desire to lead the IPL’s most renowned side. Though Pandya still has his chances, looking at his good insight into the captaincy and his participation in the Champions Trophy can also turn the tables for him if he has a probable great campaign at the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Baroda.
However, there remains a chance that Suryakumar Yadav can be a successful skipper with the Men in Blue, and then the Mumbai Indians might look to rope him in for a season as their stand-in skipper. So clearly, Hardik’s chances of retaining his IPL captaincy have also been largely threatened following his national disappointment.
