The devastated Mumbai Indians outfit is going through harrowing times with four consecutive defeats that have put them in a difficult situation in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In their latest defeat, the side slipped to a 57-run defeat against Punjab Kings on Thursday, further sinking them in the points table. Having now played five games, MI only have one win, which was against KKR. Meanwhile, speaking on MI's loss against PBKS, former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary launched a sharp attack on MI skipper Hardik Pandya, saying his leadership has been poor since taking over the reins two years back.

"From where will ownership come? One has to look at oneself as well. You need to see how you have been playing. According to me, just because you are not having success this year doesn't mean the mistakes happened only this year. You need to look at the root cause as well. From 2015-2023, Rohit Sharma helped the Mumbai Indians win several trophies," said Tiwary.

Tiwary urged Pandya to step down and hand the leadership responsibilities to Rohit Sharma, underlining the success MI achieved under Rohit's captaincy.

"In 2023, there was no trophy. In 2024, there was no trophy, and the chances of the same happening are high this year too. I think the captaincy is weak. I don't want to be harsh. But Hardik is not leading the team the way it should be. It's very important to be proactive as a captain. I think that if a solution is needed, Hardik should step back from the captaincy and hand the responsibility back to Rohit. When you removed Rohit, you did an injustice," he said.

Tiwary further hit out at Pandya for his leadership tactics against PBKS, highlighting Pandya's decision to promote himself in the batting order. Yet he managed only 14 runs off 12 balls. Against Punjab, MI were restricted to 195/6 in 20 overs, with Quinton de Kock and Naman Dhir emerging as the lone warriors with their timely knocks of 112* and 50, respectively. PBKS, on the other hand, chased down the target of 196 in 16.3 overs.

"Hardik shouldn't have promoted himself against the Punjab Kings. He scored 14 runs off 12 balls. Sherfane Rutherford just got five balls. If Rutherford had played as many balls, he would have hit 3-4 sixes. Hardik Pandya thought he could do it. Yes, he could have done it. You should have pushed Rutherford up. And secondly, there is no point in giving Jasprit Bumrah the second over when you are not giving him the first. Deepak Chahar just isn't able to swing the ball," he said.