Former Team India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the Mumbai Indians (MI) must move on from Hardik Pandya as captain after the ongoing IPL 2026 season. The cricketer-turned commentator further suggested that the franchise should consider Jasprit Bumrah as their next captain.

Hardik returned to MI ahead of the 2024 season, having led the Gujarat Titans (GT) for 2 years. However, in his three years leading MI from 2024 to 2026, the side missed the playoffs in two seasons, 2024 and 2026.

Meanwhile, with him sidelined in the last three games, MI have won two of them, with Bumrah leading them in their latest outing against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Talking about MI’s captaincy future amid IPL 2026, Manjrekar told Sportstar:

“I’d like to see Jasprit Bumrah captain more because I don’t think anyone reads the game as well as he does. What he does with the ball is not just about his action or his skills. It’s also about anticipation, reading batters, understanding situations, and assessing pitches.”

He added:

“I think they might have to look beyond Hardik Pandya. I’d really like to see Bumrah being given a short-term opportunity because that’s not as much of a burden on him as being India’s Test captain, where he has to stay fit and ready for every Test match. I just hope the Mumbai Indians consider Bumrah as captain for the foreseeable future.”

MI are currently placed second from bottom on the points table with only four wins from 12 matches this season.

“Even if he was only bowling at 135 kph, he still could have captained” – Sanjay Manjrekar on Jasprit Bumrah as India’s Test captain

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Jasprit Bumrah should have captained India in Tests after Rohit Sharma’s retirement, despite the pacer’s absences for workload management. The champion pacer was overlooked as Test captain in favor of Shubman Gill to maintain continuity, something Manjrekar believes is overrated.

“Even in England, I believed that even if he was only bowling at 135 kph, he still could have captained. I don’t believe captaincy changes things that dramatically because we’ve seen so many examples in Indian cricket. For instance, when Virat Kohli stepped away [during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy] for a paternity break, and Ajinkya Rahane took over, India still won. A change in captaincy doesn’t suddenly transform the team,” said Manjrekar (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

“So I think this idea that the captain has to play all five or six Test matches is a little overrated. If your team is full of players performing well, you should try to have the best possible captain leading whenever he is available. It also has to be someone deserving. Bumrah has the qualities and the body of work behind him.”

Bumrah has captained India in only three Tests and two T20Is in his decade-long international career.