Mumbai Indians’ captain, Hardik Pandya, has incurred a one-match ban for his team’s slow over rate during their match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium. With Mumbai Indians concluding their IPL 2024 campaign, Hardik will serve the suspension in the team’s opening match of the next season.
Should Hardik transfer to another franchise for the upcoming season, the ban will apply to his debut match with the new team.
This marks the third instance in IPL 2024 that Mumbai Indians failed to maintain the required over rate. In addition to the ban, Hardik has been fined INR 30 lakhs, while the rest of the playing XII, including the Impact Player, faced individual fines of either INR 12 lakhs or 50% of their match fees, whichever is lower.
The season proved to be a disappointing one for both Mumbai Indians and Hardik. The team’s 18-run loss to LSG resulted in only four victories from 14 games, landing them at the bottom of the points table. Hardik, who assumed captaincy from Rohit Sharma, faced criticism from the Wankhede crowd throughout the tournament. On-field statistics reflect a lackluster performance, with Hardik scoring 216 runs at an average of 18.00 and a strike rate of 143.04, while also securing 11 wickets at an economy of 10.75.
Mark Boucher, head coach of Mumbai Indians, acknowledged that off-field distractions may have affected Hardik and contributed to the team’s subpar showing.
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