Former CSK and Mumbai Indians legend Ambati Rayudu has taken a dig at current MI skipper Hardik Pandya and asked him to stop being ‘arrogant’. Pandya is struggling for form with both bat and ball in IPL 2026. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians are currently struggling in the points table at ninth place.
This year, Hardik Pandya has been woefully out of form with both bat and ball. In 8 matches, he has made just 146 runs in 8 matches at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 136. His highest score has been just 40.
Hardik Pandya’s poor form in IPL 2026
With the ball, it has been even worse. He has taken just 4 wickets this year, and they have come at 61.5 a piece. Hardik’s economy rate of nearly 12 runs an over is not doing him any favours either.
Hardik’s batting problems were on full display during his team’s loss to CSK on May 2. He struggled to put bat on ball and laboured to just 18 runs in 23 balls. Mumbai Indians also managed just 159/7, which CSK chased down with ease.
“You need to realize and accept when you’re not in form” – Rayudu to Hardik Pandya
Talking to ESPNCricinfo after the match, Rayudu pointed out what exactly would have been plaguing Pandya and how he could have escaped it. Rayudu also talked about the need to be smart in moments of bad form.
“It happens to most of the batters at some point in their careers for sure. The only thing is you need to have a way out and also realize and accept that I am not in form. You need to maybe rotate strike a little more, get off strike, choose and pick your moments and bowlers and be smart about it rather than be arrogant about it,” he said.
Rayudu went on to talk about what Pandya should have been doing differently at this point. Rayudu said about Hardik, “A lot of these middle to lower order batters drag the ball mostly onto the on side.”
“And when you are not used to the ball moving away from you, especially during the last 6-7 overs, you are not set up to hit over point or use the pace on the off side. That is what he should have done. He should have just taken a little bit of room and maybe tried to hit the bowler over point or third-man,” he added.
Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
Not just Hardik Pandya, most other MI players are out of form as well. MI have hence been unable to field a fully settled line-up. The poor form has also put Hardik Pandya’s captaincy under the scanner.
Right now, MI have just 2 wins in 9 matches and are on a three-match losing streak. They lost four in a row once this season already. In their next match, MI will take on tenth-placed Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Also Read: Watch: Hardik Pandya meets CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan, video fuels IPL 2027 trade speculation