IPL 2026: What is going on between Hardik Pandya & Mumbai Indians?

Hardik Pandya is the captain of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026.

Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a heartbreaking moment on Sunday, losing the 54th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The defeat led to MI’s elimination from IPL 2026 playoffs race.

Notably, captain Hardik Pandya was not part of the clash as his recovery for back spasm continued. Suryakumar Yadav led the team in his absence against RCB.

Mumbai failed to come up with a decent batting show in Raipur, reaching 166/7 after being asked to bat first. Later, they did a wonderful job with ball, dismissing RCB’s key batters cheaply.

The match witnessed many twists and turns but eventually, RCB managed to snatch a victory by two wickets, sneaking two runs needed off the final delivery.

Hardik Pandya unfollows and then follows Mumbai Indians after defeat against RCB

After the defeat, Pandya unfollowed Mumbai Indians on Instagram, leading to speculation around his future with the franchise. His antics came into the notice of many fans after the RCB vs MI game.

According to the multiple social media users, Pandya unfollowed Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Mumbai Indians at around 11:30 on Sunday night. However, he again followed the franchise after an hour.

Multiple uses shared screenshots showing Mumbai Indians missing from Pandya’s following list. The brief social media activity was enough to send rumours about a rift between him and the franchise.

Notably, Pandya became the captain of MI ahead of IPL 2024 by replacing Rohit Sharma. The decision did not go well with many MI and Sharma’s fans.

Hardik also faced a lot of backlash during that season on social media and inside the stadiums. Now, due to MI’s dismal performance in IPL 2026, Pandya’s leadership has been under scrutiny from the start.

Although, there is no official confirmation, but with the way things are going, there are chances that we might not see Hardik donning MI’s jersey in 2027.

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