Hardik Pandya: India’s ‘clutch god’ who is disappearing for Mumbai Indians | Cricket News –

New Delhi: Sanju Samson was batting 85 off 48 balls. Chennai Super Kings were already running away from the match at Wankhede. Mumbai Indians still had two runs left from Hardik Pandya, but the MI skipper bowled the ball towards Krish Bhagat, who was playing only his second IPL match.Bhagat went for 16 innings, and MI eventually faced their heaviest defeat in IPL history, by 103 runs. In the end, it turned out to be unimportant in the context of the match, but questions were raised about Hardik’s decision to choose not to bowl himself. MI coach Mahela Jayawardene later described it as an opportunity for the youngster (Bhagat) to “step up”.

Since the start of 2026, Hardik has bowled 60 balls (10 overs) at India’s death in eight innings, taking five wickets and conceding an economy rate of 9.7.

In the ongoing IPL, he has bowled just three overs at that point across seven innings, taking one wicket and conceding 15.7 runs.In India colours, Hardik is the crisis manager, the trusted player in the final match of the World Cup final (at Kensington Oval two years ago in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa). He also bowled the 19th over at Wankhede in the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final against England.

In T20Is, Hardik Pandya is India’s ‘clutch god’ with the bat as well as the ball. But when he plays for the Mumbai Indians, from 2024, this clutch god is invisible. In India colours, Hardik Pandya is everywhere. In MI’s Blue and Gold, since 2024, Hardik Pandya is nowhere to be seen.

Hardik has been with the ball since 2024

Since 2024, the year Hardik returned to MI from Gujarat Titans (GT), he has bowled 108 balls in MI’s first six overs, conceding 219 runs at an economy of 12.17 and an average of 73.0 with three wickets.For India in T20Is, Hardik conceded 394 runs on 290 deliveries from 31 innings in overs 1-6. His economy in India has fallen to just 8.15, and he averages 39.4 with 10 wickets.

The same pattern is followed in the “death transgressions” as well, between transgressions 16-20.In India colours, Hardik has bowled 179 balls in 16-20 overs and conceded 274 runs at an economy of 9.18 since 2024. He has averaged 15.2, taking 18 wickets in the same period.For MI, youngster Pandya has conceded 208 runs in 88 balls since 2024 and has an economy rate of 14.18.

This means Hardik concedes five more runs per over when bowling for MI in the death overs compared to India in T20Is.

The striking difference in Hardik’s strike rates in ‘Death’.

‘Since 2024, between 16-20 overs, Hardik has played 302 balls in 26 innings for India, scoring 556 runs at a convincing strike rate of 184.1. The all-rounder averaged 29.3 with the bat in the same period while hitting a six every 7.7 balls.For MI, Hardik Pandya’s numbers drop significantly. Since 2024, the right-handed batsman has faced 173 balls in the IPL between overs 16-20, scoring 270 runs and his strike rate has dropped to 156.1.

Hardik averages 15.0 and hits a six every 11.53 balls.

Dig deep and you’ll find the problem clear.Since 2024, only five batsmen (Suriya, Tilak, Naman Dhir, Tim David, and Pandya) have played 50 or more balls for MI in an over 16-20 in the IPL. Of these, Hardik Pandya, while scoring the most runs for MI in this period, has only made 156.1 which is the worst among the five.The closest to Pandya is Tim David, who scored 181.42 when he was part of MI in 2024.

Syria recorded the highest strike rate in this period at 204.71.For India too, Pandya has scored the most runs (556) in 16-20 overs since 2024. But his strike rate rises to 184.11, which is third best among all Indian batsmen who have faced at least 50 balls at the same stage.

The lost aura

The above numbers do not suggest that MI’s poor performances in two of the last three IPL seasons were all because of Hardik, far from it.

However, the MI captain has not been at his best for the franchise since his return in 2024, compared to his performances for India during the same period.Whether captaincy pressure is the factor behind this decline is a question that only Hardik himself can answer. But the numbers suggest that Hardik has not had the same impact on Mumbai Indians since his return in 2024.

For India, Hardik Pandya is the reliable bowler who bowls tough shots and finishes matches with the bat. But since his return to Mumbai Indians in 2024, he has not had the same impact in the Indian Premier League. The numbers show that the player India relies on looked different while playing for MI.