IPL 2024: 'Thrilled to welcome Hardik Pandya back home,' says Mumbai Indians' Nita Ambani

Mukesh Ambani family-owned Mumbai Indians on Monday confirmed return of Hardik Pandya to the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Hardik back home! It’s a heartwarming reunion with our Mumbai Indians family! From being a young scouted talent of Mumbai Indians to now being a team India star, Hardik has come a long way and we’re excited for what the future holds for him and Mumbai Indians," said Nita Ambani. 

“Seeing Hardik back at Mumbai Indians makes me very happy. It is a happy homecoming. He provides great balance to any team he plays. Hardik’s first stint with the MI family was hugely successful, and we hope he achieves even more success in his second stint," said Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries-owned Jio Infocomm. 

Pandya moved back to MI after two years at Gujarat Titans, which has on Monday announced Shubman Gill as its new captain.

Pandya had joined Gujarat Titans as their captain in 2022 and led them to title in the maiden season itself, besides guiding them to the IPL 2023 final, where they lost to the Chennai Super Kings.

The Mumbai side named Rohit Sharma as their captain for IPL 2024, England pacer Jofra Archer has been released.
Archer is still recuperating from an elbow surgery.

Mumbai Indians: Retained: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Dewald Brevis, SKY, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd (trade).

Released: Arshad Khan, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier.

Gujarat Titans: Retained: Shubman Gill (Captain) David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma.

Released: Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka.