Mumbai Indians Players Fined for Breaching IPL 2024 Code of Conduct in Dugout Incident

Tim David, the batter for the Mumbai Indians, and Kieron Pollard, the batting coach, were fined 20% of their match money on Thursday for violating the IPL code of conduct during their encounter against the Punjab Kings at Mullanpur.

Pollard and David were both fined for signaling to the on-field hitters from the dugout to request a review of a wide delivery, even though the IPL did not disclose the specifics of the infraction.

The incident happened after Arshdeep Singh bowled a full and angled delivery outside off stump that Suryakumar Yadav was unable to hit with on the final ball of the 15th over. Suryakumar requested a review later on, having not seen it at first. Sam Curran, the interim captain of the Punjab Kings, approached the on-field umpire and reportedly asked if 15 seconds had passed.

Before requesting a review, it is believed that the on-field umpires made it apparent that the Mumbai hitters were not facing the dugout.

Subsequently, the IPL requested the broadcaster’s footage in order to verify the order of events leading up to the review. The match administrators notified the team about the infraction after verifying that the Mumbai dugout had visibly urged the hitters on the field.

The IPL playing regulations 3.2.3, which reads as follows: “The two batters may confer with each other prior to deciding whether to request a Player Review,” was the said clause that was applicable in this particular instance. Before choosing whether or not to request a Player Review, a player is never allowed to ask an umpire any questions regarding the judgment.

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“The on-field umpires may, in their discretion, deny the request for a Player Review if they feel that the captain or either batter has received direct or indirect input from sources other than the players on the field. Specifically, no signals may be given from the dressing room. Violation of this clause will result in reporting under COC.”

According to an IPL press release, David and Pollard violated Article 2.20, which addresses any behavior that goes against the spirit of the game, by committing a Level 1 offense. It did not, however, identify the offense.

“The circumstances surrounding the specific incident, as well as whether the offense was intentional, careless, reckless, avoidable, or unintentional, shall be taken into account when determining the seriousness of the offense. Additionally, the individual filing the report will decide where the conduct falls on the severity scale, which goes from minimal behavior (which is classified as a Level 1 offense) to extremely serious behavior (which is classified as a Level 4 offense).

Pollard and David both acknowledged their transgression and accepted the penalty imposed by match referee Sanjay Verma.

With three victories and four defeats from their previous seven games, Mumbai, who went on to win the match by nine runs, are presently ranked seventh in the standings. Their next game is at Jaipur on Monday, where they play the Rajasthan Royals.