Mumbai Indians are set to reinstate their most successful captain for IPL 2027.

With Hardik Pandya moving to Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians are all set to bring back Rohit Sharma as the captain for IPL 2027.

Rohit is Mumbai Indians' most successful captain, winning five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020. But in a shock move, he was replaced by Hardik Pandya as the MI captain in 2024.

Hardik's Challenging Tenure

The move backfired big time as MI hit a sudden downward slope -- crashing out in the league stages in two out of the three seasons under Hardik.

Fans were also incensed at Rohit's sudden ouster as captain and Hardik bore the brunt -- getting incessantly booed during his first season in charge in IPL 2024.

The last straw came during IPL 2026 which was a low point for Hardik-led MI as they finished ninth out of 10 teams, winning just four out of 14 games.

Hardik's injury-ridden past hasn't helped either.

This season, he missed three matches for MI with back spasms with Suryakumar Yadav taking over the captaincy on a temporary basis.

The all-rounder is yet to play a competitive match in the last seven months with a series of injuries -- from quadriceps strain to knee injury to right shin injury.

Return Of A Champion Leader

The only way out for MI and Hardik was to seek a move away.

The 33 year old readily agreed to play under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy at Punjab Kings.

Hardik had wanted to be appointed MI captain in place of Rohit, when he was traded from Gujarat Titans to the five-time champions.

MI have been left with no option but to go back to Rohit, who is likely to lead in what could be his last IPL season before he makes way for someone like his protege Tilak Varma.

Rohit continues to be a force with the bat in T20 cricket. He is second on the IPL all-time with 7,329 runs from 281 matches at a strike rate of 132.91, with two centuries and 49 fifties.

He took over the captaincy in the middle of the 2013 season and exceeded all expectations by leading MI to their first-ever IPL title that season.

He went on to lead MI for 11 seasons, winning a record five titles -- the joint most successful captain in the IPL along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

His relaxed approach to captaincy and superb man-management skills made him a favourite among the players.

Strengthening The Squad

Arshdeep Singh's signing is a major boost for MI.

The left-arm pacer bolsters MI's pace attack and his new ball partnership with Jasprit Bumrah will be a treat for fans -- the duo already having been part of India's T20 World Cup wins in 2024 and 2026.

Arshdeep, who made his IPL debut with Punjab Kings in 2019, has emerged as one of the leading bowlers in the world in the T20 format.

With 111 wickets in 96 IPL matches, he is Punjab Kings' all-time leading wicket-taker. The 27 year old is also India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 151 scalps in 104 matches.