Former India captain and ex- chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth has called on Hardik Pandya to relinquish the captaincy and encouraged the Mumbai Indians to name T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav as their captain for the 2026 IPL season. According to Srikkanth, if Suryakumar becomes leadership of the Mumbai Indians following his World Cup-winning campaign, any possible power struggle within the team might be settled.
Since his dramatic transfer from Gujarat Titans in 2024, Hardik Pandya has led the Mumbai Indians. The enormous fan base of the team did not all agree with his choice to take Rohit Sharma’s place as captain of the five-time champions. Some members of the home crowd at Wankhede Stadium jeered Hardik during his first season as captain because they believed Rohit should be the team’s captain.
The Mumbai Indians were able to hold onto their core even though significant changes to the team were anticipated before the massive auction prior to IPL 2025. But the outcome did not favor them. MI made it into the playoffs last year after placing tenth in 2024, however they were knocked out in the Eliminator.
Srikkanth thinks Suryakumar, who is on a winning streak, is the best candidate to lead Mumbai in IPL 2026, which begins on March 28, even though Hardik has shown his abilities as an IPL captain.
“It’s a funny situation. Two-three weeks back, Suryakumar Yadav won the World Cup as a captain in India. Two years back, Rohit Sharma won it as captain. Personally, I like Hardik Pandya a lot. He is a fantastic cricketer, fantastic person. He is a very good captain also. He won the title for Gujarat Titans. But, this, I think, is an internal policy. They need to sort this out. From the outside, the obvious choice seems to be Suryakumar Yadav. He is on a winning run,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube show, Cheeky Cheeka.
“They have to come together, meet again – the team owners, the upper-level management have to meet Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik and say ‘Surya, you lead this year’. We will have to wait and see.
“They can appoint Surya as captain any time, it’s not necessary they have to do it right now.
“It’s funny because the same Hardik played under Rohit and won the T20 World Cup for India. He did the same under Suryakumar this year.
“Hardik Pandya should go on to say ‘I am stepping aside. Let Surya himself lead. He has been the T20 World Cup-winning captain’. So, if Hardik himself says this, things will be resolved. I think it’s Hardik who has to go and say this.
“If at all, there is an issue in the leadership group, the best solution to it would be Hardik putting his hand up and say ‘Let Surya lead’.”
The Mumbai Indians are eager to get off to a great start in the 2026 Indian Premier League. Mumbai, who are always sluggish starts, have suffered as a result of not winning enough games at the start of the previous two seasons.
All eyes will be on Rohit, the player, even if Hardik, Suryakumar, and Rohit will be important members of their leadership group. Rohit will be eager to leave his imprint with the bat for MI after putting a lot of effort into improving his fitness last year and performing well in ODIs, the only format he still plays in international cricket.
Additionally, he is unlikely to restrict himself to Impact Player positions because his aspirations to continue playing international cricket and compete in the 2027 World Cup will depend on his ability to practice both on the field and with the bat.
