Team India’s star all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, was recently traded to the Mumbai Indians (MI) from the Gujarat Titans (GT) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2024.
Pandya led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022, and then he took the side to the IPL 2023 final, but now decided to move back to the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the IPL 2024.
This move is causing a lot of buzz, as it's one of the major talking points before the IPL 2024 mini-auction scheduled for December 19 in the UAE. Meanwhile, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his thoughts on the transfer on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin believes that MI will gain a lot from Pandya's return, as he highlighted how the star all-rounder has not only improved as a player but also as a leader during his two-year captaincy stint with GT.
R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “They have got an Indian T20 captain who has won an IPL and become a runner-up in the last two years that he has been away. It's like calling up your son and telling him, 'Hey, son. Here's some money. Go live the world. Go get an MBA degree.' So, he went to GT, became a leader, got his MBA degree, and is coming back home.”
Meanwhile, many have been slamming Pandya for running after money after he rejoined the MI, but Ashwin said that he moved to the franchise because of the way they value him.
Ashwin further explained, “So many people, after the Pandya trade, are concerned about the undisclosed money that MI might be paying him. It is not about the money, and it never will be.”
He signed off by saying, “MI could have just called Pandya and asked him to come back home, as he's still their protegee, irrespective of the amount of money that he would need. And Pandya would have agreed because they value him so much.”
(With India Today Inputs)
