The IPL 2024 transfer window closes on November 26.
As per a report in News18 Cricket Next, Hardik Pandya might be home-bound to Mumbai Indians, potentially in a direct swap with Rohit Sharma moving to Gujarat Titans in the trading window. The rumor mill also mentioned that instead of letting Rohit Sharma go, MI might let go of injury-prone England pacer Jofra Archer.
It may be difficult for MI to let Rohit go, given not only the amount of success he has had with the franchise but also the more than a decade-long emotional relationship.
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However, it is possible that MI may ask Hardik to take Archer's spot for a year before taking over as captain by replacing Rohit.
Hardik Pandya joined MI in 2015 at a base price of Rs 10 lakh. With MI, Pandya got a big platform to showcase his skills and was featured in four title-winning campaigns in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
After a lot of success with Mumbai Indians, he was released by the franchise ahead of the mega auction in 2022 and was picked up by Gujarat Titans – one of the two new franchises. He was named captain of the GT franchise and went on to win the IPL 2022 in his debut season as leader.
The deadline for the IPL transfer window is November 26 and it remains to be seen how hard Gujarat Titans will bargain for their captain and star all-rounder.
(News18 Cricket Next report)