The IPL trading window is officially closed and the ten franchises have officially shared the list of players retained & released. However, what broke the internet on Monday when the Indian Premier League (IPL) made it official that Hardik Pandya has been traded to Mumbai Indians (MI) from Gujarat Titans (GT). Hardik Pandya joined GT in 2022 as captain and led the franchise to IPL 2022 title. In IPL 2023 as well, GT reached the final, however, was defeated by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). While many fans are slamming the Team India allrounder for leaving Gujarat Titans abruptly, Hardik Pandya on Monday issued his first statement.
Sharing a video of his journey with Mumbai Indians (MI), Hardik Pandya can be heard saying in the video, "When I come back, it has to be worth it. I should be one step ahead of my game." It is pertinent to mention here that Hardik Pandya gained prominence when he made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians. For MI, Hardik played multiple match-winning knocks and he was considered a protege of big-hitter Kieron Pollard in terms of six-hitting abilities.
Gujarat Titans Retained Players: Abhinav Sadarangani, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller, Jayant Yadav, Joshua Little, Kane Williamson, Matthew Wade, Mohammad Shami, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, R. Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha
Mumbai Indians Retained Players: 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)