Mumbai Indians had a disappointing end to their IPL 2024 season with an 18-run loss against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The 5-time IPL champions never got going this season and eventually ended up with just 4 wins in their 14 matches.
The decision to change handover the reigns of MI from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya was one of the major points of contention this season. Apart from the heavy social media trolling, the new skipper also had to face booeing by the fans in the first few matches of IPL 2024 season. Moreover, the form of newly appointed skipper also came under question with the all-rounder who leaked a lot of runs with the ball while unable to justify his performances as a finisher.
In the 13 innings this season, Hardik scored 216 runs at an average of 18 and strike rate of 143. On the bowling front, the MI skipper took 11 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 10.75.
Mark Boucher on Hardik Pandya’s performance during IPL 2024 season:
Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has now publically stated that Hardik Pandya would be disappointed with his performances this season while adding that the ‘stuff’ going around him may have clouded his judgement.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Boucher said, “I think that if [Hardik] was here, he’d also be disappointed in his performances. From a captain’s perspective, I thought he had some good games. There’s a lot of stuff going on around him that maybe clouded his thoughts every now and again, which I said is tough for him as a leader as well.”
On the issue of Hardik Pandya being booed by the MI fans, Boucher said, “It wasn’t great hearing all the boos. Certainly, I felt sorry for Hardik as well. It’s never nice to go through something like that. So yeah, there are certain things we need to address. And we are going to address them.
Speaking about Mumbai Indians’ subpar performance in the last three seasons of the IPL, Boucher said the team will do a review and make some big calls if necessary.
“This is a cause for concern, and it is certainly something that we need to address as a franchise. I’m sure we will. Mumbai Indians is a very successful franchise for a reason. When you see trends like that, then you sit down, and you evaluate every season. You do a review, and if there are trends that are happening each year, then you do have to sit down and make some changes and make some big calls, which I know for a fact that we’re okay with doing,” Boucher added
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Published: 18 May 2024, 01:03 PM IST