Mumbai Indians’ batting coach Kieron Pollard and star power-hitter Tim David have been fined 20 per cent of their respective match fees for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct during the 33rd fixture of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The game was played between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) and saw the visitors win by nine runs.
“David and Pollard committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.20 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. David and Pollard were each fined 20 percent of their respective match fees,” the BCCI’s official statement read.
Both David and Pollard have admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction levied on them by the match referee.
Notably, the match referee’s decision remains “final and binding” for Level breaches of the Code of Conduct.
Though the exact reason for the sanction has not been revealed in the press release issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it seems that the duo has been penalised for gesturing Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma to take a DRS (Decision Review System) call for a wide during the game.
The incident unfolded on the last ball of the 15th over. Arshdeep Singh attempted a wide yorker to Suryakumar Yadav and it looked beyond the tram line to the naked eye but the on-field umpire deemed it as legal. After going through the replays, David and Pollard who were sitting in the dug out signalled the two MI batters at the crease to challenge the decision and they did.
The move irked the Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran and he immediately protested.
The third umpire told the on-field umpire to reverse his decision and the ball was eventually called a wide. Notably, this is the third penalty that has been levied on Mumbai Indians related to the fixture. Earlier, Hardik Pandya was also fined Rs 12 lakhs for maintaining a slow over-rate during the game.
