Looks like Mumbai Indians’ captain, Hardik Pandya, will be sitting out their first game against Chennai Super Kings this Sunday. He got a one-game suspension from the IPL because his team was too slow getting through their overs three times last season. Since the last time they messed up the over rate was in their final group stage game, he’s got to sit out the first match this year.
At a press thing before the season, Hardik finally talked about the ban. He said he didn’t even realize what would happen if they took too long with their overs.
I couldn’t really do anything about it. It just happened, you know? I think we were maybe two minutes behind. I didn’t know it would mean something like this. It’s a bummer, but it’s the rule. Who knows if they’ll keep it around? That’s up to the big guys to decide, he said.
Hardik also mentioned that now that the Impact Player rule is sticking around for three more years, players need to be true all-rounders to get a starting spot.
This rule lets teams swap out a player from their starting lineup later in the game, usually bringing in someone who’s good at either batting or bowling, depending on what they need.
Even though some top Indian players, like Rohit Sharma, aren’t fans because they think it stops Indian all-rounders from getting better (since teams just swap them out for an extra batter or bowler), the BCCI decided to keep the rule until at least 2027.
If you are not a complete all-rounder, it may be hard to get into the team. This may change later on, we’ll see. To help all-rounders grow, they will need a definite place in the team, Pandya said.
Since Pandya’s out for the first game, looks like Surya Kumar Yadav will be leading the team instead.