Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s season ended on a disappointing note as his team faced their tenth defeat, finishing at the bottom of the IPL 2024 table. In addition to the loss, Pandya has been banned from playing the first match of IPL 2025 and fined Rs 30 lakh due to an over-rate offence.
This penalty was imposed after Mumbai Indians failed to complete their overs within the stipulated time for the third time this season during their final match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium. The IPL stated, “As it was his team’s third offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Pandya was fined INR 30 lakh and banned from playing the team’s next match.”
The rest of the MI players, including the Impact Player, were each fined either Rs 12 lakh or 50 percent of their match fees, whichever was lesser. This enforcement follows similar actions taken earlier in the season, such as the suspension of Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant for an over-rate offence.
Despite an appeal by Delhi Capitals against Pant’s suspension, the ruling was upheld, leading to Axar Patel stepping in as captain for the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Patel mentioned that Pant was unhappy with the decision.
Mumbai Indians had a season to forget, managing only four wins out of 14 matches. The team’s performance was underwhelming, and the off-field controversies didn’t help. Fans were vocal about their displeasure with the captaincy change from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya, often booing Hardik during matches. This constant pressure and the team’s poor form created a challenging environment for the players.
Mark Boucher, the head coach of MI, acknowledged the difficult season and expressed sympathy for Hardik. “It’s never nice to hear boos, and I felt sorry for Hardik. We need to address some issues, but now is not the right time as everyone is disappointed and emotional. We will evaluate what went wrong and make good decisions moving forward,” Boucher said.
Hardik Pandya finished the season with 216 runs in 13 innings and took 11 wickets. Boucher admitted that off-field distractions might have impacted Hardik’s performance. “Hardik might be disappointed with his performance. There were a lot of things happening around him that could have clouded his thoughts. This experience will help him grow as a leader,” Boucher added.
Looking ahead, Mumbai Indians will need to regroup and address the issues that plagued their 2024 campaign. With Hardik set to miss the opening match of the next season, the team has time to reflect and plan for a better performance in IPL 2025. Fans and management alike hope to see a stronger, more focused team take the field next year.