Hardik Pandya Returns to Mumbai Indians in All-Cash Deal
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has made a return to the Mumbai Indians (MI) team after being drafted from the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal. Pandya began his IPL career with MI in 2015 but represented GT in the last two seasons as captain, leading them to an IPL title in their debut season in 2022. Following the confirmation of his trade to MI, Pandya expressed his delight on social media, stating that “it feels good to be back.”
Pandya took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share his excitement about returning to Mumbai. He wrote, “This brings back so many wonderful memories. Mumbai. Wankhede. Paltan. Feels good to be back,” along with the hashtags #OneFamily and tags to MI’s official account.
Although Pandya was retained by GT on the deadline day, his move to MI became possible due to the trading window remaining open until December 12.
The IPL issued an official statement regarding the trade, stating, “Gujarat Titans’ (GT) captain, Hardik Pandya, is set to move back to his first franchise, Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises. The all-rounder spent two momentous years with GT, spearheading their campaign with aplomb. In GT’s debut season in 2022, Hardik ensured a fairytale start, with the team lifting the coveted trophy, while they finished runners-up in their second season after a last-ball defeat in a thrilling final earlier this year.”
With Pandya’s departure from GT, the franchise has appointed Shubman Gill as the captain for IPL 2024.
In another significant trade, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green has joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from MI. Green, who was bought for a massive Rs 17,50,00,000 at the auction before the last season, featured in 16 matches, scoring a century and two fifties.
The Mumbai Indians have retained a list of players, including Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Dewald Brevis, Ishan Kishan, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, N. Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Romario Shepherd (T), Shams Mulani, Surya Kumar Yadav, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, and the traded player Hardik Pandya.
Meanwhile, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have retained players such as Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Himanshu Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (T), Mohammed Siraj, Rajan Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Reece Topley, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Will Jacks, and the traded player Cameron Green.
These trades have already sparked excitement among fans, and the countdown to the next IPL season is well underway.
