During a frustrating spell in the IPL 2026 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya forcefully knocked the bails of the wicket. As a result, he was fined 10% of his match fee and given one demerit point for abusing cricket equipment.
When Pandya “knocked the bails of the wicket with force while walking back to his run-up” during the match that MI lost by four wickets, it was determined that he had violated Level 1 of the Code.
With seven balls to spare, KKR chased down the target of 148, and Pandya returned from his two overs with 13 runs conceded but no wickets.
“Hardik Pandya was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to ‘abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a Match’,” the IPL said in a statement.
“The incident occurred on the fourth ball of the 10th over of the second innings of the match, when Hardik Pandya, while walking back to his run-up, knocked the bails of the wicket with force.”
In the IPL, accumulating four to seven demerit points results in a one-match suspension. Pandya acknowledged the infraction and agreed to the penalty that Match Referee Rajiv Seth had given.
After a terrible season in which they have only won four games, five-time winners MI are already eliminated from this year’s IPL playoffs contention.
On Sunday, they will take on the Rajasthan Royals in their final match of the current season.
