IPL 2027: 'He should not be captain', says ex-MI player Ambati Rayudu on Hardik Pandya

Former Mumbai Indians player Ambati Rayudu thinks that Hardik Pandya, if he stays with the franchise, should not be the captain anymore. The comments came amid ongoing trade speculation about Pandya, who leads the five-time IPL winners as of now, ahead of the retention deadline on November 17. The franchises will then go into a mini-auction, the last of the ongoing cycle, on December 16 in Goa ahead of IPL 2027. With Hardik as captain, MI finished tenth in 2024, and lost in Qualifier 2 in 2025 before finishing at the bottom in 10th place in the last season.

Rayudu does not want Hardik as captain

"In Mumbai, I just thought that Hardik felt as if he was cornered. And once you feel you are cornered, you are always looking over your shoulders. Once that happens in a dressing room, you tend to come out in ways that you would not want to. A lot of things did not go well for Hardik. I don't know if it's Hardik’s fault or someone else's," Rayudu said while talking to Cricbuzz.

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"From now on, if he wants to stay at MI, I do not think he should be the captain. He should just play as a player, enjoy his time, and try and win matches for MI. But if he goes out, definitely not a captain again, at least for one season," he added.

Pandya's IPL career

Pandya started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2015 and went on to become one of the core players for both India and the franchise. He stayed with MI until 2021 before moving to Gujarat Titans in 2022 as captain. He won the title with GT in his first season itself and moved back to MI in 2024, this time as captain. Pandya has played 162 matches in the IPL, scoring 2,955 runs and taking 82 wickets as well.