There are rumours floating around that all is not well between Hardik Pandya and the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026. Viral posts on social media suggested that Pandya unfollowed the franchise’s official page on Instagram.

Furthermore, it was also reported that Pandya deleted many of his posts on his social media handle, which were related to Mumbai Indians, to add more fuel to the fire. However, on digital verification done on 11th May, Monday, Pandya still follows the Mumbai Indians on social media platforms, putting all the speculations to bed.

These social media screenshots also sparked a rumour that Pandya could leave Mumbai Indians after the end of the season. Pandya had rejoined MI in IPL 2024 and was appointed as a captain, replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm after he found success as Gujarat Titans skipper. However, MI had a poor run in IPL 2024 but qualified for the playoffs in the previous season. 

Meanwhile, IPL 2026 has been a dreadful season for Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. Pandya has scored 146 runs in eight matches of the ongoing season at an average of 20.86 and a strike rate of 136.44. Moreover, the MI skipper has managed only four wickets in eight matches of the tournament at an average of 61.50 and a high economy rate of 11.90.

Ergo, Pandya has failed to lead from the front with both bat and ball in the ongoing season. Pandya was recently sidelined with a “lingering” back spasm/injury and thus didn’t play against Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. MI’s vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav led in his absence.

Mumbai Indians were also knocked out of IPL 2026 after the five-time champions suffered a two-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Raipur on Sunday.

Speaking after the loss against RCB, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said, “Yeah. Hardik had a back issue which we were trying to rectify, but it hasn’t settled in yet. So the medical guys were working on him. He couldn’t train the last few days, so we didn’t want to take a risk without knowing exactly. So we’ll see. It’s on a day-to-day basis. See how he feels.”

Even though the season is over for Mumbai Indians and Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder would be determined to make a roaring comeback if he recovers on time. 

Mumbai Indians will next take on Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Thursday.