Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori explained the possible reasons why the Mumbai Indians (MI) didn't retain Hardik Pandya and why the all-rounder might have wanted to go back into the IPL 2022 mega auction pool.
Recently, Mumbai Indians (MI) retained their skipper Rohit Sharma (INR 16 crores), Jasprit Bumrah (INR 12 crores), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 8 crores), and Kieron Pollard (INR 6 crores) for the next three years.
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Reacting to Mumbai's retention decision, Vettori believes that MI’s decision to not retain Pandya for the IPL 2022 was made purely based on financials while pointing out that every franchise, including the five-time IPL champions, wanted Hardik in their side, but MI just couldn't convince him to stay.
Notably, if Pandya had been retained by the MI, he would have received only the third spot, implying a pay cut of at least 3 crores from last season, for which he may not be ready.
Vettori told ESPNCricinfo: “It's simply about money, it has to be. There's no way that Mumbai [Indians] didn't want Hardik Pandya, every franchise wants him. But they would have only been able to offer him that third spot because and Bumrah and Rohit rightly take up those two slots.”
He further added, “So unfortunately for Mumbai, they are the product of their own success. And this was Venky's point when we were discussing with him that you develop players and you get them to a point where they are critical to a franchise but then it's incredibly difficult to hold onto them. I am sure that Hardik Pandya would have been a top priority but they just couldn't fit him in.”
Meanwhile, Vettori also pointed out the fact that KL Rahul also parted ways with Punjab Kings (PBKS) and that he feels there might be some kind of alliance between him and Pandya since they are very close friends and there are chances of them playing together in the IPL 15.
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The former New Zealand skipper further mentioned, “I am sure that Hardik Pandya would have been a top priority but they just couldn't fit him in. He probably feels like he has developed himself and there may be alliances forming. That may be a factor as well. KL and Hardik are extremely close so there may be an opportunity for them to all join up with luck now.”
He signed off by saying, “All these things in the background may be happening at the moment and we will only find out in the coming days and weeks if it comes to fruition. I think there are a lot of players trying to play together.”
