All the teams are set for another high-voltage season of the Indian Premier League. The IPL 2024 auction saw some teams make big decisions about releasing and signing players for their teams. But ahead of the auction, one news made headlines related to Hardik Pandya.
The captain that led the Gujarat Titans to the IPL win in their maiden season in 2022 and backed it up with another final in 2023 was traded to the Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal. MI paid all the amount to GT in cash and the additional undisclosed transfer fees.
That certainly raised many eyebrows. Later, MI also announced that Hardik would replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the team. On the other hand, GT made Shubman Gill their next captain. However, GT signed some good players at the auction to fill Hardik’s place.
But it will be interesting to see whether Hardik’s absence will hurt Gujarat or how they will handle it. On the other hand, veteran GT pacer Mohammed Shami has reacted to this. In an interview with Sports24, he said that it doesn’t matter and no one cares about it.
Shami said, “Kiso kai jane sai kisi ko koyi farak nahi padta. (No one cares about anyone (Hardik Pandya) leaving the franchise.) Hardik wanted to leave, and he left. He wasn’t tied up to Gujarat for a lifetime.” The pacer also said that it is the choice of an individual; even Gill can get experience and then choose another team in the future.
The Gujarat franchise signed some exciting names at the IPL auction for the next season. Their highest bid was for the Australian pacer Spencer Johnson, who was bought for INR 10 crore. GT also bought Shahrukh Khan (7.4 crore), Umesh Yadav (5.8 crore), Kartik Tyagi (60 lacs), and Azmatullah Omarzai (50 lacs).
