Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene opined on a frustrating IPL 2026 season for MI, putting special focus on captain Hardik Pandya, who has also faced injury during a campaign where they faced repeated defeats. Jayawardene opined on the moments of on-field frustration, when a dropped catch against KKR involving Robin Minz and Deepak Chahar that led to anger from Hardik, as signs of the pressure as well.

Jayawardene said to the reporters on the eve of MI’s clash against RR in Mumbai at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

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“I mean, Hardik was also injured, but continuous defeats. And we saw in the last game that the catch that fell between Robin Minz and Deepak Chahar. I think he got too frustrated and broke the stumps in possession. I think in that situation, obviously, it is frustrating for any bowler or whatever. I mean, you can’t read too much into it. But yes, the same frustration he had on the field. But overall, I think it is hard not just for Hardik, but for all of us to go through a season where we know that we have the talent, we have the squad, but we were not able to execute and perform to the best of our ability,” Jayawardene said.

However, Hardik Pandya was also fined 10% of his match fee and has also faced one Demerit Point for breaching Level 1 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for players and team officials during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday as well.