Hardik Pandya is Mumbai Indians’ new captain and will lead the five-time champions in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He was traded to MI from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal. According to a report in the Indian Express, there are speculations that Mumbai also paid a transfer fee for the all-rounder.
There is no specific figure available but it is being estimated that Titans got INR 100 crore as a transfer fee but the exact numbers are only known to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Pandya was with Gujarat for two years and led the franchise to their maiden title in the first season itself. In the previous edition, the Gujarat-based team made it to the final but lost to Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
After spending two successful seasons with Titans, Hardik returned to his previous team. MI was his first IPL franchise and he won four titles with them. Pandya was not retained for IPL 2022 and was signed by GT.
Meanwhile, his return hasn’t gone well with some Mumbai players. Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav have registered their displeasure through social media. The two senior pros were overlooked for captaincy despite staying with them for years.
Even fans are angry and many have left social media pages of the franchise.
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