After MI lost their third consecutive match in IPL 2026, ex-India cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh opined that MI's only issue is Hardik Pandya's captaincy. Calling him "mediocre" skipper, he added, "Hardik made a huge error by using two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay...He came back...in the 17th over. It means your best bowler wasn't in the contest for 60 deliveries."