New trouble for Hardik Pandya! The Mumbai Indians captain was fined for breaching the code of conduct after the KKR defeat

Hardik Pandya (IPL Photo) NEW DELHI: It has been a season to forget for Mumbai Indians and skipper Hardik Pandya suffered another setback on Thursday after he was fined for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his side’s defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.Pandya was penalized after visibly venting his frustration on the field during MI’s four-wicket loss, a result that further summed up the five-time IPL 2026 champions’ miserable campaign. According to an official IPL statement, Pandya has breached Level 1 of the Code of Conduct regarding misuse of cricket equipment and ground equipment.“Hardik Pandya has been found to have breached Article 2.2 of the IPL Code of Conduct which relates to ‘misuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match’,” the statement said.The incident occurred on the fourth ball of the 10th over of KKR’s chase when Pandya, returning to his run-up, violently knocked the bails off the stumps.The MI captain admitted the offense and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Rajiv Seth. Along with the fine, Pandya also received one demerit point. Accumulating four to seven points for a loss in the IPL can lead to a one-match suspension.

Another frustrating night for Mumbai Indians

The disciplinary issue capped yet another disappointment for the Mumbai Indians, who had already been eliminated from the play-off race.Defending a modest total of 147/8 on the tricky Eden Gardens surface, MI failed to hold their nerve as KKR chased down the target with seven balls remaining to stay alive in the play-off race.Pandya later admitted that Mumbai’s batting and fielding failures continued to haunt the team throughout the season.

Can Mumbai Indians make a strong comeback next season?

“Definitely as a batting group we were 20 runs short,” Pandya said after the match. “I think we’ve been pretty poor in the field over the course of the season. We’ve dropped a lot of catches. If you want to win games, you’ve got to take every chance, even half chances.”MI’s disappointing campaign has now seen them win just four games this season, with one final league game remaining against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.