Ahead of IPL 2026, Ravichandran Ashwin questioned the Mumbai Indians' captaincy. "Suryakumar Yadav not being captain is a no-brainer," he said. He added, "Hardik has credentials, but it's a challenging situation." Ashwin believes SKY deserves the role due to his T20 World Cup success, while Hardik can still lead MI with the right support to end their five-year title drought.