Srinagar: Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher has said that even captain Hardik Pandya would be disappointed with his peformance after Mumbai India suffered another defeat in IPL 2024 vs LSG.
After losing to the Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs, Mumbai’s Indian Premier League 2024 season came to an abrupt end, finishing last in the IPL standings.
“Even Hardik would’ve been disappointed with his performance. From a captain’s perspective, he had some excellent games,” Boucher said in a post-match press conference.
“There’s a lot of stuff going around him that clouds his thoughts now and again, which is also challenging for him as a leader. He certainly had a lot of support within our dressing room, and guys are trying to help him out, but it is tricky to go through as a player. It is what it is, and it will undoubtedly be a learning curve for him with his leadership growth. While times are tough now, some things will pass, and he’ll be a tougher leader. So, some fantastic things are coming for Hardik Pandya as a leader,” he added.
“He came into the season with little cricket behind him, so it would always be reasonably tough on him. We understood that as well. His bowling got a lot better as the season went along. Unfortunately, he didn’t fire with the bat this season. He showed glimpses of what he can do,” the MI head coach said.
In just 14 IPL 2024 matches, Hardik amassed 216 runs, including a 46-run maximum. The all-rounder’s season began to fall apart quite early on, with an average of just 18 and a strike rate of 143.05.
Despite taking 11 wickets with the ball throughout the season, his economy rate was 10.75 and his average was 35.18.