After the IPL 2023 retention list was announced on Sunday, the one news that made the headlines was Hardik Pandya moving back to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans. Hardik Pandya was named in the IPL 2024 retention list by Gujarat Titans but a couple of hours after the deadline ended sources told NDTV that the Indian T20I cricket team captain was traded to Mumbai Indians. On Monday, the IPL officially confirmed the move.
Indian cricket team star spinner Ravichandran made an interesting observation regarding Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians – the two most successful team in IPL history – and their philosophy on players release.
“Trading so many players or releasing so many players is not a well-known practice so far in the IPL. Because if you look at these IPL teams and talk to them, especially with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, there has been a trend. They have never given players, they have only taken players. And they have five titles each. That’s a proper platform that they have built their franchise on,” Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin then went on to say about another IPL trade deal offered by Mumbai Indians to Punjab Kings when he was the captain of the latter from 2018 to 2019.
“When I was Punjab captain, Mumbai Indians showed heavy interest in trading David Miller. They were willing to give as much money as possible, but I wanted a player trade-off as that is what the team would need, which they never came close to agreeing to,” added Ashwin, while speaking in Tamil.
Interestingly, in the sub-title provide in the video, it’s written CSK instead of MI.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya’s India cricket teammate and Rajasthan Royals player, described the move in an interesting way.
“After Hardik, they have landed gold. They have got an Indian T20 Team captain, who has won an IPL and became runner-up in the last two years in which he was away. It’s like calling up your son and telling him, ‘Hey son, here’s some money go live the world, man. Go and get an MBA degree’,” Ashwin told on his YouTube Channel.
“So he basically went to GT, became a leader, got an MBA degree and came back home. It’s crazy man. He has won a title and become a runner-up, and he became a title by the margin of one ball, here and there.”
GT Team Director Vikram Solanki acknowledged Pandya’s contribution to the team’s success in then last two seasons.
“As the first captain of Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya has helped the franchise deliver two fantastic seasons that resulted in winning one IPL championship and one appearance in the final,” Solanki was quoted as saying in a statement.
“He has now expressed a desire to return to his original team Mumbai Indians. We respect his decision and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours,” the former England batter further added.
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