Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested that Mumbai Indians should consider handing the captaincy reins to Suryakumar Yadav instead of persisting with Hardik Pandya. When Pandya was appointed MI captain in 2024, replacing the highly successful Rohit Sharma, he was seen as a natural successor. At that point, Pandya also held a leadership role in India’s white-ball setup, serving as vice-captain. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav, who is India's T20I captain, has been on the rise after guiding India to the title victory at the 2026 T20 World Cup.
"Suryakumar Yadav being the captain of the Mumbai Indians is a no-brainer. He should definitely be given the captaincy. And the fact that it isn't happening, I'm sure, is a bit of a concern," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin, however, did not dismiss Pandya’s abilities. He admitted that Pandya has proven leadership qualities and has previously succeeded as a captain in the IPL. However, he also pointed out the immense pressure Pandya faced during his first season as MI captain in 2024.
"If we look at Hardik Pandya, as the Gujarat Titans' captain, had a title in his first season and was a runner-up in the second season. And when he came to Mumbai, the expectation was that he will be the captain and continue the trend. But it took him a year to handle Rohit Sharma and all those sagas. Now, he is having to compete with this lot of people telling him that Suryakumar Yadav is the incumbent Indian team captain, but Hardik is the captain of Mumbai. It is a very challenging thing. A lot of things could be going through his mind," Ashwin said.
"But I don't think Hardik Pandya, the captain, doesn't have credentials – he does have the credentials. He did a great job with the captaincy for the Gujarat Titans," Ashwin said.
Mumbai Indians will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium.