<p>Hardik Pandya made his way back to the Mumbai Indians team in what could be considered the largest transfer in Indian Premier League history. The five-time IPL champions completed the trade in an all-cash agreement with Gujarat Titans, who had kept the star all-round player on their roster until the deadline of 5 p.m. on November 26.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-290718″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-the-mumbai-indians-have-confirmed-hardik-pandyas-homecoming-download-2023-11-27t17.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com the mumbai indians have confirmed hardik pandyas homecoming download 2023 11 27t17″ width=”1222″ height=”813″ title=”The Mumbai Indians have confirmed Hardik Pandya's "homecoming" 9″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-the-mumbai-indians-have-confirmed-hardik-pandyas-homecoming-download-2023-11-27t17.jpg 275w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-the-mumbai-indians-have-confirmed-hardik-pandyas-homecoming-download-2023-11-27t17-150×100.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1222px) 100vw, 1222px” /></p>
<p>Pandya’s return to the Mumbai Indians is expected, and the transaction may be all-cash, meaning that no players from the Mumbai team would be sent to the Titans. This was first reported by The Statesman on Saturday.</p>
<p>After the cutoff time for clubs to reveal the roster of players they had kept and released, the agreement was finalized late on Sunday. Although clubs had until Sunday to verify which players were cut from the roster and which ones remained, trades between teams may occur as late as December 12, one week ahead of the scheduled auction.</p>
<p>The player trade window opens one month after a season concludes, remains open for business until one week before to the auction date, and then closes one month before the following season begins, as per IPL regulations. The auction is set for December 19, and the trade window will reopen on December 20—up to one month before the 2024 IPL season kicks off—after the current one ends on December 12.</p>
<p>The Mumbai Indians formally announced Pandya’s “homecoming” on Monday. Pandya joined the club in 2015 as an uncapped player and went on to play a role in four championship winning seasons: 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2015.</p>
<p>“We are overjoyed to have Hardik return home! We are thrilled to be reunited with our Mumbai Indian relatives! Hardik has gone a long way from being a young Mumbai Indians identified prospect to now being a Team India star, and we’re thrilled for what the future holds for him and Mumbai Indians,” the team’s owner, Nita Ambani, said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Seeing Hardik back at Mumbai Indians makes me very happy,” club owner Akash Ambani said, welcoming the Baroda all-rounder back into the lineup. I’m pleased to be returning home. Any team he plays for benefits greatly from his balance. We hope Hardik’s second term with the MI family is even more successful than his first, which was very successful.</p>
<p>Hardik had a great time with the Titans, helping them win the championship in their first season in 2022 and then making it to the final in the 2023 season. He is presently recovering from an ankle injury he suffered during the World Cup. During his two-year tenure with the Gujarat team, Hardik amassed 833 runs in thirty innings. He bagged them 11 wickets.</p>
<p>With the swap, Hardik also joined Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane as the third skipper to change teams.</p>
<p>The Titans’ budget rose by Rs 15 crore as a result of Hardik’s move, and they will also get an extra transfer fee from Mumbai that they must report to the IPL. According to the mutual agreement, Hardik might get up to 50% of the Titans’ transfer price.</p>
<p>Before Sunday’s deadline, the Mumbai Indians team released 11 players, including well-known players like Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer, and sold Australian all-rounder Cameron Green to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in order to make room for Hardik. Romario Shepherd, a West Indian, was previously acquired by the Mumbai Indians via trade. Mumbai’s auction purse was left with Rs 15.25 crore after the release of the 11 players, and another all-cash sale involving Green brought them an extra Rs 17.50 crore.</p>
The Mumbai Indians have confirmed Hardik Pandya’s “homecoming”
