The greatest story to break around the cricket community on Sunday, November 26, was definitely Hardik Pandya comeback to the Mumbai Indians. The official broadcaster first showed the Gujarat Titans’ retention of the all-round player. But a few hours later, there were rumors that he had been officially transferred to Mumbai.
To be fair, this move caused a great deal of consternation among the fans. Since the deadline for retention had already passed, many people doubted that the transaction could actually occur. But by the time the paperwork was signed, the trading window had opened, thus the trade was truly doable. Actually, the trading window will remain open for business until one week prior to the mini-auction, which is set for December 19 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
It is important to note that all transactions made between the teams will be considered legitimate throughout the trade window. Cash dealings for the player that took place after the retention deadline had passed were also under scrutiny. To pay Hardik his INR 15 crore salary, MI had to let go of Cameron Green and trade him to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
And so, Hardik Pandya exit from the Gujarat Titans became official.
To make things easy, the 30-year-old may return to the team he won four titles with during his previous six-year stay because the trade window was and is still open. Along with Ajinkya Rahane (from the Rajasthan Royals to the Delhi Capitals) and Ravichandran Ashwin (from the Punjab Kings to the Delhi Capitals), Hardik Pandya became the third captain to be traded from a franchise with this deal.
Gujarat Titans announced 24-year-old Shubman Gill as their captain for the 2024 season of the lucrative league, realizing they needed to select a captain after the all-rounder was benched.
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