R Ashwin Discloses Mumbai Indians’ Unsuccessful IPL Trade Attempt: They Were Willing to Splurge

After the IPL 2023 retention list was announced on Sunday, the big news was the return of Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans. Although Pandya was initially named in the IPL 2024 retention list by Gujarat Titans, sources told NDTV a few hours after the deadline ended that he had been traded to Mumbai Indians. The move was officially confirmed by the IPL on Monday.

Indian cricket team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made an interesting observation about the philosophy of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the two most successful teams in IPL history, regarding player releases. Ashwin noted that these teams have never released players, only acquired them, and have each won five titles. He praised their ability to build their franchises on this solid foundation.

Ashwin also mentioned a trade deal offered by Mumbai Indians to Punjab Kings when he was the captain of Punjab from 2018 to 2019. He revealed that Mumbai Indians showed a lot of interest in trading for David Miller, offering a significant amount of money. However, Ashwin wanted a player trade-off, which Mumbai Indians did not agree to.

Interestingly, in the video, the subtitle mistakenly mentions CSK instead of MI.

Ashwin, who is Pandya’s teammate in the Indian cricket team and plays for Rajasthan Royals, described the move in an interesting way. He compared it to calling up your son and giving him money to go out into the world and get an MBA degree. He emphasized that Pandya had gone to Gujarat Titans, become a leader, and gained experience, only to return to his home team, Mumbai Indians.

GT Team Director Vikram Solanki acknowledged Pandya’s contributions to the team’s success in the past two seasons. He stated that as the first captain of Gujarat Titans, Pandya had played a crucial role in winning one IPL championship and reaching the final in another season. Solanki expressed respect for Pandya’s decision to return to Mumbai Indians and wished him the best for his future endeavors.