In what will go down as one of the biggest Indian Premier League transfers, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has returned to Mumbai Indians (MI) as a trade was completed with his current franchise Gujarat Titans (GT).
MI also traded their all-rounder Cameron Green to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to bolster their purse for the upcoming IPL player auction on December 19.
With this trade, the Titans’ purse increases by INR 15 crore, which was Hardik’s salary. Additionally, they will receive an undisclosed transfer fee from Mumbai, which they are required to disclose to the IPL. Hardik stands to earn up to 50% of that transfer fee from the Titans, based on their mutual agreement.
These developments occurred after the 5 pm deadline on November 26, for franchises to announce their lists of released and retained players before the auction. At the time of the deadline, Hardik was still part of the Titans, while Green was included in Mumbai’s list of retained players.
As per IPL regulations, the player trading window starts a month after a season ends and remains open until a week before the auction. It reopens the day after the auction and continues up until a month before the next season begins. Currently, the trading window is open until December 12, with the auction set for December 19. It will reopen on December 20 and continue until a month before the 2024 season starts.
Before the retention deadline, Mumbai had released 11 players, freeing up INR 15.25 crore in their auction purse. Although this amount was sufficient for the Hardik trade (INR 15 crore), it would have left Mumbai with limited funds for the auction. By trading Green to RCB in an all-cash deal, Mumbai added another INR 17.50 crore to their purse.
Reports indicate Mumbai had attempted player swaps with at least two franchises before the retention deadline, but these deals didn’t materialise.
The Gujarat Titans, owned by CVC Capital Partners, were established in 2021 and were permitted to pick three players from the pool released by other franchises before the 2022 mega auction. Titans signed Hardik and Rashid Khan for INR 15 crore each, while Shubman Gill was their third pick at INR 7 crore.
Under Hardik’s captaincy, the Titans won the IPL title in 2022 and were runners-up in 2023. He scored 833 runs in 30 innings for the Titans at an average of 41.65 and a strike rate of 133.49. He also claimed 11 wickets for them at an economy of 8.1.
However, Hardik initially made his mark in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians, starting his career there and evolving into one of the finest all-rounders in the game. Bought for INR 10 lakhs as an uncapped player in 2015, he contributed to Mumbai’s title-winning seasons in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Despite being retained by Mumbai in previous auctions, he was released before the 2022 mega auction, leading to his move to the Gujarat Titans as their captain.