In one of the biggest news ahead of the IPL 2024 players’ auction, Gujarat Titans’ captain Hardik Pandya is set to return to Mumbai Indians in a cash swap, according to an ESPNcricinfo report.
The trading window for IPL 2024 ends on November 26 at 4 PM IST, and reports suggest that Gujarat Titans’ captain is set to rejoin Reliance Industries-backed IPL franchisee if the deal is not changed at the last minute.
The reports also revealed that the trade will be an all-cash deal. This means Mumbai Indians must pay Rs 15 crore and a transfer to Gujarat.
If the deal goes through, it will come as a major surprise to cricket fans, given Hardik has led the Gujarat Titans to the final in their first two IPL season, winning the trophy in their inaugural edition itself.
After the IPL 2023 auction ended, Mumbai Indians had just Rs 0.05 crore in their salary purse left. All the franchises will get an additional Rs 5 crore in their purse for the IPL 2024 auction. This only means Mumbai must release player(s) to finish the Hardik trade.
Mumbai might release Jofra Archer to get Hardik, as the English pacer has fitness issues. He missed all the IPL games during the 2022 season while only playing five games in IPL 2023, claiming two wickets.
Hardik scored 833 runs in 30 innings during his two seasons with the Titans, averaging 41.65 and striking out 133.49. For them, he claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8.1. Due to an ankle injury sustained during India’s ODI World Cup campaign, Hardik is currently sidelined.
