Indian cricket team all-rounder Hardik Pandya won hearts with a brilliant gesture towards the ground staff at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Mumbai Indians captain spent a significant amount of time at the ground during his preparation for the T20 World Cup, during which he promised to reward the ground staff upon his return from the competition. Hardik kept his word, rewarding the MCA ground staff on Thursday and acknowledging their role in helping him train. Hardik enjoyed a stellar run of form, playing a major role in guiding the Indian cricket team to the 2026 T20 World Cup title.
Earlier, legendary India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stated that Mumbai Indians (MI) should make Suryakumar Yadav the captain of the franchise, ahead of Hardik Pandya.
He was India’s vice-captain in white-ball cricket when he took over MI’s captaincy in 2024 from Rohit Sharma.
However, now not only is Pandya no longer in any captaincy role in international cricket, but Suryakumar is also India’s current T20I captain and recently led them to the T20 World Cup 2026 title. Ashwin said that it is “concerning” that MI have yet to make Suryakumar their permanent captain.
“Suryakumar Yadav being the captain of the Mumbai Indians is a no-brainer. Faith captaincy I want to give it (He should definitely be the captain). And the fact that it isn’t happening, I’m sure, is a bit of a concern,” Ashwin said, speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Ashwin, however, acknowledged Pandya’s captaincy credentials and reflected on his struggles as MI captain.
“We should also look at Hardik’s captaincy credentials. Hardik Pandya, as the Gujarat Titans captain, won a title in his first season, and the team was the runner-up in the second.
“When he came to Mumbai, the expectation was that he would be the captain and continue that trend. However, his first year was spent just dealing with the Rohit Sharma saga,” Ashwin said.
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