Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu slammed Hardik Pandya for his underwhelming performances in the ongoing IPL 2026. Pandya meandered to 18 runs off 23 balls against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday as MI suffered an eight-wicket loss.

The MI skipper struggled to find any timing against the Chennai bowlers and failed to get going. Pandya has managed only 146 runs in eight matches at an average of 20.86 and a strike rate of 136.44 in the ongoing IPL 2026. Thus, he has failed to add the finishing touches for the team this season.

Ambati Rayudu said on ESPN Cricinfo, “It happens to most of the batters at some point in their careers for sure. The only thing is you need to have a way out and also realize and accept that I am not in form. You need to maybe rotate strike a little more, get off strike, choose and pick your moments and bowlers and be smart about it rather than be arrogant about it.”

On the other hand, the former CSK batter reckons Pandya should have looked to play over the point or third man fielder against the short-pitched deliveries. Pandya has been trying to hit the ball hard but has failed to get his timing right.

Rayudu concluded, “A lot of these middle to lower order batters drag the ball mostly onto the on side. And when you are not used to the ball moving away from you, especially during the last 6-7 overs, you are not set up to hit over point or use the pace on the off side. That is what he should have done. He should have just taken a little bit of room and maybe tried to hit the bowler [Jamie Overton] over point or third-man.”

Mumbai Indians will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Monday.