The last date for player retention was November 26, and it certainly ended with some mind-boggling decisions. All ten franchises made some big decisions and released some big names that will come under the hammer in the coming IPL 2024 auction.
The auction for the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League will take place in December in the UAE. Some big names will feature in the auction, and only time will tell which will be the costliest player among them. However, the biggest decision made yesterday was of Hardik Pandya.
The skipper of the Gujarat Titans was in the news, but fans were shocked when he was retained by the franchise. However, just a couple of hours later, it was learned that the GT had traded Hardik to the Mumbai Indians. This news broke like a fire in the woods. Everyone was talking about it.
MI was happy that they got back Hardik, and GT was happy with their decision. And now, GT’s Director of Cricket, Vikram Solanki, has finally opened up about their decision to release Hardik. On Monday, in a statement, he said that Hardik himself showed his desire to return to MI.
Solanki said, “He has 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 endeavors.” Hardik was released by MI in 2022, and GT signed him and made him captain. He led the franchise to win the championship in their maiden season.
Hardik also led the team to the final in the last edition, when CSK beat them. However, he made his IPL debut with MI in 2015 and played in seven seasons for them. He was also one of the main reasons for MI’s success in those seasons. However, after Hardik left GT, the franchise named star Indian opener Shubman Gill as the new captain of the team.
