Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin reckons Hardik Pandya might be struggling physically or is going through a hard injury amid his struggles in the ongoing IPL 2026. Pandya hasn’t played the last three games for Mumbai Indians due to injury woes.

Hardik Pandya hasn’t been able to lead Mumbai Indians from the front with both bat and ball. Pandya has scalped four wickets in eight matches whereas he has scored 146 runs in as many games. 

Ashwin pointed out that Pandya is getting late on the hard-length balls, which is surprising as he is known to hit them for sixes.

Ravichandran Ashwin said on ESPN Cricinfo, “With his batting, I found something quite interesting and strange, which is how late he’s been on the ball. Is he going through something physically. We wouldn’t be able to know that if there is something, then maybe that physical aspect will bring him back. And if he gets better, he’ll come back to it. But he’s been late on the hard-length deliveries.

“He’s not someone who’s going to miss hard-length deliveries. He hits it 15 rows back. That’s a bit of a concern for me, whether he’s suffering something physically from a back issue or hands, or does he have a tennis elbow? Is his bat heavier [than it should be]? Does he need to recalibrate that? Those are things that I would want to know,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin backed Pandya to turn a corner and said he is a once-in-generation player.

“Hardik is once-in-a-generation player. You don’t find such players. And if India finds itself in a certain T20 mastery now, Hardik’s been a linchpin in that. And to me, Hardik, the player, you can have a bad season. It’s digestible for me. Especially after you had a World Cup like that. Hardik likes a bit of space. He kind of stays in his own zone.”

Mumbai Indians will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday.