Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya was fined 10 per cent of his match fees and received one Demerit Point after breaching Level 1 of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Code of Conduct. The incident took place during MI’s defeat at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 65 at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday, May 20.
During the second innings of the game, Hardik came in to bowl the 10th over. On the fourth ball, he was smashed for a boundary by Manish Pandey. Whilst walking back to his run-up, the MI all-rounder intentionally knocked the bails with force, which goes against Article 2.2 of IPL’s Code of Conduct, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a Match.”
According to IPL’s official press release, Hardik admitted to the wrongdoing and accepted the fine imposed by Match Referee Rajiv Seth.
KKR went on to secure a four-wicket win over the five-time champions to keep their playoff chances intact. Ajinkya Rahane’s side chased down 148 runs with seven balls to spare, thanks to Pandey and Rovman Powell’s 45 and 40, respectively.
Hardik, meanwhile, struggled with the bat, scoring 26 at a strike-rate of 96.30, whilst going wicketless in the ball.
Hardik has not had the best of times in the IPL this season. The 32-year-old has scored 172 runs from nine matches at a strike-rate of just 128.35, whilst averaging 21.50. He has also taken a mere four wickets in the tournament.
MI have also had a torrid time in the IPL, languishing in ninth spot in the points table after 13 matches. They have only secured four wins all season long, which has not only raised question marks surrounding Hardik’s captaincy but also his place in the playing XI.
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The Mumbai-based franchise will play their final game of the 2026 season against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, May 24. It has now been six years since MI last won an IPL title, which happened in 2020.
