Mumbai Indians endured a disappointing end to their IPL 2024 campaign with an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
The decision to hand over the reins of MI from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya was one of the biggest points of contention this season.
In 13 innings this season, Hardik has scored 216 runs at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 143.
On the issue of Hardik Pandya being booed by the MI fans, Boucher said, "It wasn't great hearing all the boos.
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.
Mumbai Indians endured a disappointing end to their IPL 2024 campaign with an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The five-time IPL champions never got going this season and ended up with just 4 wins in their 14 matches.
The decision to hand over the reins of MI from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya was one of the biggest points of contention this season. Apart from heavy trolling on social media, the new skipper also had to face boos from the fans in the early matches of the IPL 2024 season. The new skipper's form has also been questioned, with the all-rounder leaking a lot of runs with the ball while failing to justify his performances as a finisher.
In 13 innings this season, Hardik has scored 216 runs at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 143. On the bowling front, the MI captain 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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