Hardik Pandya officially returns to Mumbai Indians; Cameron Green joins RCB in massive IPL trade episode

Former Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya has returned to his old franchise, the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in arguably the most talked-about trade in IPL history. Hardik has joined MI in an all-cash deal, where the Titans have received INR 15 crore in their kitty for the IPL 2024 auction.

To make funds for the move, Mumbai have let go of Australian all-rounder Cameron Green in another all-cash deal, this time to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a massive INR 17.5 crore. Green will join the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, making it an incredibly power-packed batting line-up.

Hardik Pandya has won a staggering four IPL titles with MI already and will be starting another chapter in the club's rich history. This deal now has provided Mumbai Indians a purse of INR 17.75 crore with which they can target a few quality players in the auction.

RCB's purse has now been reduced to INR 23.25 crore for the auction after Cameron Green's acquisition. They will believe they have a strong star-studded core to build on in the auction to be held on December 19 in Dubai.

---

Hardik Pandya wanted to return to MI

Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket, Vikram Solanki, claimed that Hardik Pandya wanted to go back to the Mumbai Indians after a couple of seasons with GT. Here's what Solanki was quoted as saying by ANI:

“As the first captain of Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya has helped the franchise deliver two fantastic seasons that resulted in winning one IPL championship and one appearance in the final. He has now expressed a desire to return to his original team Mumbai Indians. We respect his decision and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”

Having made it to the final in both seasons with GT and won the title once, MI have probably secured their future captain in Hardik after Rohit Sharma's tenure ends.