R Ashwin opens up on Hardik Pandya's poor form: "If he gets a good hit in one innings..."

Former India spinner R Ashwin has opened up on Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya's poor form with the bat. Pandya has scored just 96 runs in five matches in IPL 2026.

Apart from his own poor form, Pandya has also had to contend with the dismal form of his team as well. Mumbai Indians made an auspicious start to the season by winning their first match, but slumped to four defeats in a row before bouncing back with a 99-run win against Gujarat Titans on April 20.

"He will also start opening up with the bat": Ashwin on Hardik Pandya's slump

Ashwin - who has played 106 Tests for India - reiterated a common talking point about the Mumbai Indians side, saying that the MI franchise would become very difficult to stop once Pandya finds his mojo with the bat.

“Remember that Hardik Pandya is yet to open up with the bat. He will also start opening up with the bat. It is just a matter of one innings. If he gets a good hit in one innings, it will be very difficult to stop this team. If this team starts firing, it will become very difficult to stop them.” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

The Mumbai Indians had faced a similar setback in IPL 2025 as well. Last year, the Hardik Pandya-led team won just one of their first five matches, but made a comeback by winning seven of their next 9 matches to book their slot in the playoffs, where their run was ended by Punjab Kings.

"That pressure comes into your batting as well" - R Ashwin

Speaking further, Ashwin noted that the lack of team success meant that Hardik Pandya, as captain, was taking the pressure on himself and that it was affecting his batting.

“Hardik Pandya was not getting the win as captain, and there was pressure on him, and that pressure comes into your batting as well. With this win, chances are high that Hardik Pandya will find his mojo with the bat.” He added.

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Not just the bat, Hardik Pandya's form has been indifferent with the ball as well in IPL 2026. In five matches, he has picked up just three wickets at an economy rate of nearly 12 runs an over.

"A very strong opening combination" - R Ashwin

Ashwin also highlighted the significance of the Mumbai Indians continuing with their strong opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.

“This win was important for MI, and also important for the IPL. See, they have a good team, and the way MI were losing with this team, they would have been really upset about it. When you have Quinton de Kock, you have to continue with him even after Rohit Sharma comes in. I agree Rickelton is a very good player, but de Kock is de Kock. That is the absolute bottom line. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock will form a very strong opening combination,” he added.

Former skipper Rohit Sharma has sat out of MI's last two matches due to injury. In fact, it was his injury that paved the way for de Kock into the team. de Kock scored a century in his first match of IPL 2026 and made a strong case to replace the strugglin Ryan Rickelton who did not play the fixture against GT.

MI's upcoming matches

Mumbai Indians will face arch-rivals and fellow five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on April 23. This clash has been purported as the 'El Clásico' of the IPL, but MI are currently seventh while CSK are eighth on the points table, with both teams having won just two matches out of six.