Don’t remember your last match-winning knock: Ex-KKR star’s savage attack on Hardik Pandya
Published - 20 Apr 2026, 04:27 PM | Updated - 20 Apr 2026, 05:00 PM
The Mumbai Indians’ ongoing IPL 2026 campaign is slowly turning into a nightmare, and now the pressure is clearly building on captain Hardik Pandya. Now, the former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned Hardik Pandya’s impact with the bat this season.
Mumbai Indians have lost four out of their first five matches so far in the ongoing IPL 2026, and they are now sitting at the bottom of the points table. One of MI’s biggest setbacks came against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Wankhede Stadium, where they failed to defend a massive 195 runs.
Hardik Pandya under pressure as Mumbai Indians' nightmare IPL 2026 season continues
Well, it is not just about losing matches. The bigger problem is that their key players are not performing at all. Apart from their inconsistent batting, MI’s bowling has been a major concern this season. They have already conceded 972 runs in just five matches.
Hardik Pandya’s own performance has also not been up to the mark. The Indian all-rounder has managed only 81 runs and taken just 3 wickets so far. For a player of the MI captain’s caliber, this is not enough, especially when his team is struggling and needs him to lead from the front.
Aakash Chopra questions Hardik Pandya’s match-winning impact
As MI gear up to face the Gujarat Titans on April 20 in Ahmedabad, Aakash Chopra bluntly said that he doesn’t remember when he saw Pandya playing a match-winning knock for the franchise. He said that the time has come for the captain to take full responsibility and win the match for MI.
Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel: “You have corrected the batting order now. I won't talk about Surya because he played many match-winning knocks last time, but Hardik, I don't remember when the last match-winning knock you played was.”
He continued, “We have seen many good cameos, but those match-winning 70 or 80 runs where you win the match alone, Hardik is capable of that. If you get less than that repeatedly, you think this is the time when Hardik does what he can do, because you are capable of doing that.”
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Hardik Pandya’s captaincy under fire as Chopra feels MI need fearless approach
There are also questions around his captaincy, as Hardik has not been able to use match-winning stars like Jasprit Bumrah properly, and he remains wicketless so far in the tournament.
However, the cricket pundit suggested that the Mumbai Indians need to try something different now. He feels players like Sherfane Rutherford should get better chances in the batting order to give them the firepower they need at this stage, as another loss would all but end their playoff hopes.
Chopra signed off by saying, “They need fresh ideas and freshness and a little fearless approach, and Sherfane Rutherford should bat slightly up the order. All of that is required because the truth is that the five-time champions, the Mumbai Indians, are at No. 10 at this point in time.”
Notably, Rohit Sharma, who missed the last match due to a hamstring injury, travelled with the MI team to Ahmedabad, but his availability for the GT match depends on the final fitness assessment before the game on Monday.
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