mumbai indians Will once again enter the 2026 Indian Premier League season as one of the strongest contenders on paper, with a star-studded squad, Hardik PandyaRohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Verma. Despite a strong squad, the five-time champions are yet to lift the trophy since their last triumph in 2020.The franchise underwent a major transformation in 2024 with Hardik Pandya returning from Gujarat Titans and taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma. The transition was not smooth, with fan backlash and on-field struggles ultimately leading to a bottom-place finish that season. The following year, Mumbai improved and reached the playoffs, but their season ended in a loss to Kings XI Punjab (Kings XI Punjab) in the Qualifiers 2. Shreyas Iyer.Ahead of 2026 season, former India selector Chris Srikanth Involved in leadership debate, hinting at possible changes to captaincy. He believes that Suryakumar Yadav, who just led India to success in the T20 World Cup, might be given the seal to see if it changes the fortunes of the team.“The franchise owners and team management including Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have to come together again and get this right again. They should let Surya lead this year and see if luck changes. They can appoint Surya anytime. For the captaincy. They don’t need to announce it now,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.He further highlighted the unusual dynamic within the squad, pointing out that several leading World Cup-winning figures currently play under Hardik.“It’s an interesting situation. Hardik Pandya is a good captain. But yes, they have two T20 World Cup-winning captains playing under him now. Here are some internal policies they have to address. From the outside, the obvious choice would have been Suryakumar Yadav. But it could be a franchise policy,” he added.Describing it as a “bizarre situation”, Srikanth said the situation may become clear if Hardik himself chooses to resign.“It is a strange situation as Hardik helped India win the World Cup under the leadership of Rohit and Suriya. Otherwise, Hardik himself should have said no to the captaincy and let Suriya lead. If Hardik himself had said so to the management, the matter would have been resolved. He should have said, ‘Let Suriya lead, I will support’. That is one way to solve the problem,” Srikanth said.Mumbai Indians will start their IPL 2026 season on March 29 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
