NEW DELHI: The talks around the Mumbai Indians captaincy are intensifying after the franchise endured a disastrous IPL 2026 season. One of the most successful teams in IPL history, known for its dominance over the years, Mumbai Indians had a forgettable campaign, managing just four wins in 14 matches, while suffering 10 defeats and crashing out in the group stage.With another disappointing season behind them, questions surrounding Hardik Pandya’s captaincy have grown louder from all quarters.Following the disappointing season, TimesofIndia.com conducted a poll asking fans: Who should lead Mumbai Indians in IPL 2027?The fans overwhelmingly backed Jasprit Bumrah as the top contender to captain the five-time champions next season. Bumrah captained MI in one match this season, against Punjab Kings when both Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav were unavailable, and led the side to victory in his first outing as skipper.More than 44 percent of fans voted in favour of Bumrah becoming Mumbai Indians captain for IPL 2027.Rohit Sharma, who guided MI to five IPL titles, finished second in the poll with more than 27 percent of the votes.Tilak Varma received 17 percent of the votes, while Suryakumar Yadav got 10.6 percent support from fans.TOI Sports’ panel also debated who should lead Mumbai Indians next season. Most of them felt Bumrah should be handed the captaincy rather than the franchise looking for another new face.For now, Bumrah could emerge as the ideal option to revive Mumbai Indians before the franchise eventually looks toward a long-term leadership transition.Pandya, who started his IPL journey and rose to fame with Mumbai Indians, was released by the five-time champions ahead of the 2022 season. He then joined Gujarat Titans as captain and immediately scripted history by leading the franchise to the IPL title in their inaugural season in 2022. In 2023, he guided the Titans to yet another final, where they narrowly lost to Chennai Super Kings.After two successful seasons with Gujarat Titans, Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians in 2024 and replaced Rohit Sharma as captain. However, things did not go according to plan for either Pandya or the franchise.Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the table in IPL 2024, winning only four matches and losing 10.The 2025 season did bring some improvement as Mumbai Indians reached the playoffs. They defeated Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator before losing to Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2. Yet again, MI’s wait for an IPL title – their last coming in 2020 – continued.IPL 2026 was expected to be the season where Mumbai Indians finally broke their six-year title drought. The pressure was immense on Pandya and the franchise. But things only got worse.
Which factor contributed most to the Mumbai Indians’ struggles in IPL 2026?
Nothing seemed to work for Mumbai Indians during the season. The team looked out of rhythm in all departments and Pandya himself missed a couple of matches. In the end, MI were eliminated after another poor campaign with just four wins in 14 matches.
