Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who captained Gujarat Titans for 2 years, has been traded to Mumbai Indians before Indian Premier League 2024. This has been one of the biggest talking points in the lead-up to the mini-auction, which will take place on December 19 in UAE. However, veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin believes that Mumbai Indians will get a lot of benefits with this move. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin shared how Pandya grew as a player and as a leader in his 2-year stint with Gujarat Titans as well.
“They have got an Indian T20 captain who has won an IPL and become a runner-up in the last two years that he has been away. It’s like calling up your son and telling him, ‘Hey, son. Here’s some money. Go live the world. Go get an MBA degree.’ So, he went to GT, became a leader, got his MBA degree, and is coming back home,” said Ashwin.
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In his two-year stint with Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya led his team to the title win in their maiden IPL season in 2022 as well. The Titans also reached the finals in the last season and finished off as the tournament’s runners-up after facing defeat against Chennai Super Kings in the final who won their record fifth title on the last ball thriller.
However, Mumbai Indians have played a huge role in Hardik Pandya’s career. He was picked up as an uncapped player at the base price of Rs 10 lakh rupees by the franchise in 2015. He played a key role in Mumbai Indians title victory in 2015. 2017, 2019 and 2020 as well.
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“So many people, after the Pandya trade, are concerned about the undisclosed money that MI might be paying him. It is not about the money, and it never will be. MI could have just called Pandya and asked him to come back home, as he’s still their protegee, irrespective of the amount of money that he would need. And Pandya would have agreed because they value him so much, ” concluded R Ashwin.
