Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has questioned whether Tilak Varma has done enough to be Mumbai Indians (MI) vice-captain, as recent reports suggest Rohit Sharma’s return as captain for IPL 2027, with Tilak as his deputy. Tilak made 359 runs at a strike rate of 145.93 in 2026, with two half-centuries and a maiden IPL century in April.
However, MI struggled throughout the season, finishing ninth with only four wins in 14 outings.
Talking about Tilak Varma’s possible ascent to MI vice-captaincy, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka:
“Though Tilak Varma might become vice-captain, he has also been very inconsistent for MI. Last year, barring one century, he was inconsistent. In fact, in the last two to three years, Tilak has been nothing deadly. His trend has been to produce one deadly knock and then fail the next four matches.”
Srikkanth also expressed surprise at the lack of mention of Suryakumar Yadav as potentially MI’s next captain, adding:
“In all this, Suryakumar Yadav will be thinking about how he has been forgotten. But I don’t buy into the rumors that he might be gone from MI. That won’t happen this year, with the mega auction next year. I feel for Surya, as he is a World Cup-winning captain, yet no one is talking about him amid all this.”
Suryakumar captained India to the T20 World Cup title in Ahmedabad in March, lost the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer, and was left out of the T20I squad.
“MI may be asking for too much” – Kris Srikkanth on the Hardik Pandya trade rumors
Kris Srikkanth believes MI might be overvaluing all-rounder Hardik Pandya, which is why no trade has happened yet, despite him being in the news since the start of the IPL off-season. Since taking over as MI captain ahead of IPL 2024, Hardik has endured a torrid time with the side missing the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.
“I feel MI may be asking for too much that other teams aren’t willing to give up, which is why the trade hasn’t happened yet. Other teams will see this as a chance and try to give up only one player to get Hardik. Hardik’s value as a player hasn’t dropped, as he is a brilliant player and a match-winner at any time. I feel Hardik could be a great candidate for KKR,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Hardik’s individual performances also suffered as he made only 206 runs and took just four wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2026.
Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
