"Not Hardik Pandya's Fault, Seniors Should've...": Harbhajan Singh On MI Captaincy Row

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh said that Mumbai Indians (MI) decision to bring back all-rounder Hardik Pandya to the franchise as a captain backfired and the team did not play cohesively as a unit. The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season was one to forget for five-time champions MI. They brought back Pandya after a two-year stint with Gujarat Titans (GT), which involved winning the title in their debut season in 2022, but replacing Rohit Sharma as a captain led to massive social media backlash for the all-rounder and franchise. Pandya was booed in stadiums all over India during his matches and the team finished at the bottom of the points table with four wins, 10 losses and eight points. Pandya, who had played a crucial role in the franchise's success from 2015-21, could not put on match-winning performances.

Speaking to ANI about MI's decision to bring back Pandya, Harbhajan said that the decision backfired and led to a lack of unity in the team. He also felt that this decision could have been taken a year later. However, he said that Hardik is not at fault.

"MI has a big team. I have played for it. The management is great and runs the team well. But this decision has backfired. Maybe the thinking was to look for the future. It seems that it did not sit well with the team as they did not look united. It was bound to happen. It pains me to see such a big team, an old team of mine face such poor results. Maybe the timing of the decision was not right. It could have been better had this decision been taken an year later. It is not Hardik's fault, he was captaining really well in GT. The duty of the senior players is to keep players united no matter who is the captain. Captains come and go. They did not play