A big claim has emerged regarding Hardik Pandya and his potential future with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026. A renowned former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has made the prediction that Hardik Pandya might not feature for the franchise in the next season. The conversation about Hardik Pandya's future in the MI franchise was initiated after Hardik was not seen travelling with the Mumbai Indians squad for their upcoming match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He was already not part of the previous match against the Lucknow Super Giants with Suryakumar Yadav leading the team. The reports led to doubts whether everything was good within the team or not. Basit Ali's Big Claim on Hardik Pandya In a YouTube channel video, the renowned former Pakistan pacer revealed that his sources have told him that Hardik has been asked to stay back in Mumbai. He added that while the remaining team has left for the next game, Hardik hasn't traveled. He also spoke about handling internal issues inside a team and how that should ideally not be broadcasted. "I already tell you that Hardik Pandya will not be with Mumbai Indians next season. You write it down. Now whether Mumbai Indians release him or Hardik himself leaves the team. These are not good signs. I understand that injury can be a factor and maybe the injury in this match (RCB) is also the reason for his exit. Also Read | 'Bit of a Virus': Ricky Ponting Reacts Mid-Match as Shashank Singh Drops Easy Catch vs SRH Questions Over MI Captaincy Decision Basit Ali also discussed Mumbai Indians changing their captain. He believed that it wasn't the correct move to swap Rohit Sharma out for Hardik as captain. He stated that Hardik is one of the greatest all-rounders but this substitution might of made things different for the dressing room. This problem of Hardik being unavailable to play matches has only created uncertainty about his position within the side. At this stage there has been no official statement from Mumbai Indians about Hardik's situation and the concerns are based on potential injuries that have been identified. With IPL 2026 now entering a critical stage of the season Mumbai Indians will be expecting their captain to be fit for future fixtures.