IPL 2024 Breaking: Report Suggests Hardik Pandya Returning to Mumbai Indians in a 15 Cr Trade. The upcoming IPL 2024 auction will witness a significant trade as Gujarat Titans captain. Hardik Pandya returns to his former team, Mumbai Indians. This noteworthy move, the largest in IPL history involves a full-cash transaction. Mumbai Indians will cover Hardik’s entire salary and an undisclosed transfer fee to Gujarat Titans, with reports suggesting that Hardik may receive half of the transfer fee.
Hardik Pandya’s IPL salary stands at approximately $1.8 million, equivalent to around Rs 15 crore. The details of this substantial deal remain undisclosed by both franchises. If finalized it would mark the first instance of an IPL-winning captain switching teams through a trade. Hardik secured the IPL trophy in 2022 as the captain of Gujarat Titans. In 2023, they made it to the final but were beaten by MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
For this trade to proceed, Mumbai Indians must have Rs 15 crore in their budget, yet they currently possess only Rs 0.05 crore. While all franchises receive Rs 5 crore for the upcoming auction. To secure the remaining Rs 10 crore for the Hardik deal, MI will need to release some players.
During his two-season stint with the Titans, Hardik amassed an impressive record, scoring 833 runs in 30 innings at an average of 41.65 and a striking rate of 133.49. He also contributed to the team’s bowling with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8.1. Currently, Hardik is out of action due to an ankle injury he suffered during India’s ODI World Cup campaign.
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Two captains R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane have been swapped between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in a recent trade.
Hardik initiated his career with Mumbai Indians in 2015. Ahead of the 2022 mega auctions, MI released Hardik as they could retain only a few players. GT owners CVC Capital then selected him from the pool alongside Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill.
Having secured four titles with MI in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, Hardik’s return to MI might be strategic especially with Rohit Sharma potentially nearing retirement making him a potential candidate to lead the team in the coming years.
