Hardik Pandya’s first season with Mumbai Indians (MI) ended following IPL 2021. After releasing him, MI didn’t get a chance to re-sign Pandya as Gujarat Titans (GT) signed him before the IPL 2022 mega-auction. They didn’t just sign him, but also appointed him their captain. No one gave GT a chance in their debut season in 2022. Pandya silenced his critics by powering the debutants to a title win. In 2023, Pandya proved that his success on the captaincy front wasn’t a fluke. GT lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2023 final.
MI’s downfall and Pandya’s rise as GT’s captain went hand in hand. So what did I do? They brought back Pandya via trade before IPL 2024. Pandya’s return to MI impacted the top MI players and one of them got sacked as the captain. Here, we have a look at what impact Pandya joining MI had on their marquee players –
Rohit Sharma sacked
Since Pandya won a title as GT’s captain, there was no reason for him to return to MI as a player. MI made the bold call to sack Rohit Sharma and they handed Pandya the team’s captaincy before IPL 2024.
Rohit was still India’s all-format captain when he got sacked. The MI legend played few IPL 2024 matches as an Impact Player, seemingly venting out his frustration. A month after IPL, Rohit captained India to a title win in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav ignored
Suryakumar Yadav joined India’s leadership group in 2023 and made his captaincy debut in T20Is. He was also an official member of MI’s leadership group. He was in line to lead MI after Rohit. But Pandya’s return changed that. Suryakumar only leads MI when Pandya is absent.
Interestingly, he pipped Pandya to become India’s T20I captain in 2024. In 2026, Suryakumar-led India became the first team to retain the T20 World Cup trophy.
Jasprit Bumrah also ignored
Jasprit Bumrah was India’s Test team’s vice-captain and he could also have been one of the contenders to become MI’s captain. But Pandya’s return meant that Bumrah also missed out. He isn’t part of Team India’s leadership group now.
How have MI fared under Hardik Pandya?
Pandya’s first season as MI’s captain ended on a disappointing note as they finished last in the table for the first time in the league’s history. In 2025, Pandya-led MI crashed out after losing to Punjab Kings in the second qualifier. They have crashed out of the League stage of IPL 2026.
