Senior Mumbai Indians players have blamed Hardik Pandya's leadership for their struggles in the 2024 IPL. After leading the team to five IPL titles, MI's decision to sack current India captain Rohit Sharma hasn't gone down well. Newly appointed skipper Hardik has been the target of constant booing from fans since the start of the 17th season. MI are ninth on the points table and are the first team to be eliminated from the play-off race in the 2024 IPL.
One of the MI officials said that this was not a sign of a leadership problem, but rather the team getting used to a new captain after 10 years under Rohit's leadership.
According to the Indian Express, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah have lamented the team's performance under Hardik's captaincy, with many feeling that the team has performed better under Rohit's leadership.
Over a meal, they shared their views and identified the reasons behind the team's poor performance. It was also revealed that several senior players had informed the coaching staff and other members of the team management that Hardik's captaincy was the main reason for the franchise's failure.
Following the team's defeat to Delhi Capitals, Hardik's post-match comments are said to have blamed Tilak Varma for not having "game awareness". The blame game did not end well as Tilak and Pandya got into a heated argument after Hardik's statement.
According to the source, most of the team members found it problematic to blame one player for the team's failure.