In a stunning move, Gujarat Titans (GT) has retained star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya despite talks of him moving to Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction 2024.
In 2022, Hardik captained the Titans to victory in their inaugural IPL season, earning the Player of the Match title in the final against the Rajasthan Royals. The following year, Titans, led by Hardik, reached the IPL final again but finished as runner-up to the Chennai Super Kings.
Hardik would have been the third captain to be traded after Ravichandran Ashwin moved from Punjab Kings to Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals traded Ajinkya Rahane to Delhi Capitals, in 2020.
Hardik started his IPL journey at the Mumbai Indians as an uncapped player in 2015, signed for Rs 10 lakhs. He contributed to Mumbai’s championship victories in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
Hardik was released by MI ahead of the 2022 mega auction. The five-time IPL champion decided to retain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard.
Trading window is open from seven days after the end of a season until seven days prior to the Player Auction.
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