IPL 2024 Trade: Hardik Pandya joins Mumbai Indians in all-cash deal, RCB targets Cameron Green

All-rounder Hardik Pandya has made a shift from Gujarat Titans (GT) to Mumbai Indians (MI), five-time winners of the Indian Premier League. Pandya, who led the GT to victory in the 2022 IPL season, is now preparing to join the Mumbai team for the IPL's 2024 outing. 

The deal had its complications, as MI had to offset their expenses by potentially trading Cameron Green due to their remaining purse of just Rs 15.25 crore after Sunday's retentions. With Pandya out of the picture, Shubman Gill is now tipped to take over the captaincy reins for GT.

Gujarat Titans defied speculations and chose to retain all-rounder Hardik Pandya before initiating a trade with Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction. GT decided to release the likes of West Indies spearhead Alzarri Joseph and Sri Lanka's skipper Dasun Shanaka. With the retention deadline ended on Sunday, the trade window remains open till December 12. It’s all part of the upping ante before the IPL mini auction for the much-anticipated 2024 season, scheduled in UAE on December 19. 

Hardik Pandya has returned to the Mumbai Indians, his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. His switch comes after a successful stint with the Gujarat Titans, during which he steered the team to its very first IPL victory in 2022 and again to the finals in 2023. 

Pandya now joins the exclusive group of IPL captains who have been traded in the IPL, including stalwarts Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane in 2020. The move was initiated by Pandya himself who expressed his wish to the Gujarat Titans management about intending to move back to Mumbai Indians.

Hardik Pandya's speculated return to the Mumbai Indians is a strategic decision for the five-time champions. Former India captain and ex-chief selector, Kris Srikkanth, recently expressed surprise at this speculation, endorsing it as a major boost for the team. Speculation is also rife about Pandya's potential promotion to captaincy role, taking it over from Rohit Sharma.

Pandya's cricket career boasts of impressive national and international performances. Having been a steadfast part of the Baroda cricket team since 2013, his contribution to Indian cricket spans all three formats of the game.

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is reportedly being traded from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Mumbai franchise purchased Green for a lofty Rs 17.50 crore in the last season, igniting a fiery bidding war with the RCB. 

A year later, the Australian player seems set to don the RCB colors. Green had a stellar IPL 2023 season, playing in 16 matches and amassing 452 runs at an impressive average of 50.22 and a strike rate of 160.28 for the Mumbai Indians. Additionally, his individual triumphs last season included a century and two half-centuries.

Also Read: IPL 2024: CSK releases Ben Stokes and others, left with Rs 32.1 cr in purse