Hardik Pandya Returns to Mumbai Indians

It’s official! Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will move base from Gujarat Titans to his old Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians in an all-cash transaction between the two franchises. MI will not be giving a player in exchange.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hardik back home! It’s a heartwarming reunion with our Mumbai Indians family! From being a young scouted talent of Mumbai Indians to now being a team India star, Hardik has come a long way and we’re excited for what the future holds for him and Mumbai Indians!,” Mrs Nita Ambani said on Hardik’s return.

Terming it a “happy homecoming”, Mr Akash Ambani said, “Seeing Hardik back at Mumbai Indians makes me very happy. It is a happy homecoming. He provides great balance to any team he plays. Hardik’s first stint with the MI family was hugely successful, and we hope he achieves even more success in his second stint.”

Pandya returns to a franchise where it all started for him back in 2015 where he was picked up by Mumbai Indians at his base price of Rs 10 lakh. With MI, Pandya got the big platform to showcase his skills and featured in four title-winning campaigns in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Success at Mumbai Indians meant Pandya emerged on national selectors’ radar and went on to make his T20I debut in 2016 and became a very vital cog in the Indian set-up. After a lot of success with Mumbai Indians, he was released by the franchise ahead of the mega auction in 2022 and was picked up by Gujarat Titans – one of the two new franchises.

GT announced Pandya as their captain and the all-rounder built a solid side with coach Ashish Nehra and became only the second captain after Shane Warne to win IPL title in first year as captain. Pandya’s success as GT captain in the first year was no fluke as he followed it up with another successful year in 2023 where GT finished as runners-up.

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Mumbai Indians Squad:

Players retained: Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Dewald Brevis, Ishan Kishan, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, N. Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Romario Shepherd (T), Shams Mulani, Surya Kumar Yadav, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Hardik Pandya (T)

Players released: Chris Jordan, Duan Jansen, Hrithik Shokeen, Jhye Richardson, Jofra Archer, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Raghav Goyal, Ramandeep Singh, Roley Meredith, Sandeep Warrier, Tristan Stubbs, Cameron Green (T)