"Hardik Pandya Felt Cornered": Former CSK Star Explosive Take On Mumbai Indian's Captain

Former Chennai Super Kings batter Ambati Rayudu has shared his views on Hardik Pandya's future with Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2027 season. He believes that Hardik may have felt cornered by the criticism he faced after taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma in 2024. His tenure as Mumbai Indians captain has been under scrutiny, with the franchise struggling to deliver consistent results. With reports of a possible trade involving Hardik emerging, Rayudu weighed in on the situation and Mumbai's plans ahead of the upcoming season.

During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Rayudu said, "In Mumbai, I just thought that Hardik felt as if he was cornered. And once you feel you're cornered, you're always looking over your shoulder. Once that happens in a dressing room, you tend to come out in ways that you wouldn't want to. A lot of things didn't go well for Hardik. It might be Hardik's fault as well as something else."

Rayudu believes the change in captaincy and the criticism surrounding Hardik may have affected his position at the franchise. The all-rounder replaced Rohit as Mumbai Indians captain ahead of IPL 2024, a decision that drew mixed reactions from a section of the fanbase.

"From now on, if he wants to stay at MI, I don't think he should be the captain. He should just play his game, enjoy his time, and be a match-winner for MI. But if he goes out, definitely not a captain again, at least for one season," he added.

Hardik's future has become a major talking point ahead of the IPL 2027 auction, with reports suggesting that Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are discussing a possible player trade involving Hardik and Arshdeep Singh. According to recent reports, Punjab are interested in acquiring Hardik, while Mumbai are exploring options to strengthen their bowling attack.

"I think either Punjab or CSK, because these are the two teams he could go to, but he shouldn't be captain. He'll find a very good space there in terms of his cricket. But with KKR, there's so much on the plate that he needs to assess and take things forward because they need a captain. It's not an easy team to captain right now," Rayudu said.

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