Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya has been traded to the Mumbai Indians (MI) from the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal, it was announced on Monday. Pandya, who began his Indian Premier League (IPL) career with MI in 2015, had been representing GT for the past two seasons as captain. He led the franchise to their maiden IPL title in 2022. Following the confirmation of his trade to MI, Pandya took to social media to express his excitement, stating “it feels good to be back.”
Pandya shared a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying, “This brings back so many wonderful memories. Mumbai. Wankhede. Paltan. Feels good to be back.” The all-rounder was retained by GT on the deadline day, but the trading window allowed for his move to MI, which will close on December 12.
The IPL released an official statement regarding the trade, stating, “Gujarat Titans’ 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, GT has named 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 hefty sum of Rs 17,50,00,000 at last season’s auction, featured in 16 matches, scoring a century and two fifties.
The Mumbai Indians have retained a list of players for the upcoming season, 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 Hardik Pandya.
Similarly, 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 Cameron Green.
