Courtesy: IPL
Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-time champions of the IPL, retained their core group of players ahead of the 2025 mega auction, which is set to go down on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Hardik Pandya, the captain of Mumbai Indians, was one of the key players retained by the franchise, but his services will be missed in the first game of the upcoming IPL 2025 season after he was suspended for one match at the end of last season due to a slow over-rate offence.
This was the third such offence for Hardik Pandya in the IPL 2024 season, which also meant that he was fined INR 30 Lakh for his troubles. While the captain missing out on the first game of the season might not end up being a big issue in the large scheme of things for Mumbai Indians, it isn’t an ideal situation for the franchise to be in, especially after not being able to perform to expectation under Hardik Pandya’s leadership last season.
Mumbai Indians finished in bottom place in the IPL 2024 points table under Hardik Pandya
The press release from the IPL earlier this year regarding the Indian all-rounder’s offence, read, “Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 17. 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 Rs 30 lakh and banned from playing the team’s next match.”
Notably, after being appointed as the new captain of Mumbai Indians, replacing Rohit Sharma in the role, Hardik Pandya had a dismal season at the helm individually and team wise. MI finished at the bottom of the IPL points table in the 2024 season, winning just four matches out of 14 in the tournament, to bow out of the competition before the playoffs stage.
