Hardik Pandya (Pic Credit: IPL)

NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has come out strongly in support of Hardik Pandya, insisting it is unfair to hold the captain solely responsible for Mumbai Indians’ disappointing IPL 2026 campaign.MI, one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, became only the second side to be knocked out of playoff contention this season after managing just four wins from 12 matches. With Hardik also enduring a lean run with both bat and ball, criticism around his captaincy has intensified.Ashwin, however, believes the blame has been misplaced.“I wouldn’t review his captaincy this year at all. Honestly, when you have seasons like this, to pin the blame on the captain is quite unfair. Nobody has turned up. The team has failed to turn up,” Ashwin told ESPNcricinfo.‘You’re asking him to do too much’The former India spinner pointed to Hardik’s successful leadership stint at Gujarat Titans, where he led the side to a title and a runners-up finish in two seasons, as proof of his captaincy credentials.“He was there at Gujarat Titans. Had two fabulous seasons. So clearly, as a leader, he did something right there,” Ashwin said.Ashwin added that replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain in 2024 was never going to be easy.“It’s not easy to replace an incumbent Indian captain, white-ball captain, such as Rohit Sharma. Five titles in the IPL. He’s won a T20 World Cup. You’ve got a lot of fandom going around in the country. You should have a thick skin to survive social media these days.”Concern over Hardik’s batting formAshwin also raised concerns over Hardik’s batting, saying his timing issues suggest there could be an underlying physical issue.“With his batting, I found something quite interesting and strange — how late he’s been on the ball. Is he going through something physically? We wouldn’t know. But he’s been late on hard-length deliveries.”Hardik has scored just 146 runs in eight innings this season, while picking up four wickets at an economy of 11.90. He also missed three matches due to a reported back issue.Still, Ashwin insisted the all-rounder remains invaluable.“Hardik is a once-in-a-generation player. You don’t find such players. If India finds itself in a certain T20 mastery now, Hardik’s been a linchpin in that,” he added.