5 months ago
176
Hardik Pandya could be seen playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Mumbai Indians have held discussions with Gujarat Titans and the player himself as they are eager to bring the all-rounder back to the franchise. Notably, the India international was an integral part of Mumbai’s success in the last decade but was released in 2021.
Later, Gujarat Titans, who were one of the two new franchises to be added into the league next year, roped Pandya in as their captain. Pandya has been extremely successful since then, winning the championship in his debut season in 2022 and helping the team qualify for the IPL 2023 finals, which they lost to the Chennai Super Kings to end up as the runners-up.
Looking at his progress as a leader, Mumbai is eager to bring him in and hand over the captaincy baton. As per reports, Mumbai will not remove Rohit Sharma as the leader in 2024 but there is a possibility of Pandya leading the five-time champions from 2025.
Meanwhile, as per News18, the Titans have requested for a swap of Rohit Sharma or Jofra Archer in return of Pandya. While the possibility of Rohit leaving Mumbai is almost negligible, Archer might end up in Gujarat if the deal goes ahead. The trading window is slated to close on November 26.Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in Gautam Gambhir as their mentor and Hardik’s return could possibly be the second homecoming in the tournament.
However, Gujarat have built an excellent side under Pandya's leadership and he along with Ashish Nehra have done remarkably well in the first two years. Therefore, there is no reason for the franchise to break the succesful partnership, especially for an injury-prone Jofra Archer in return. Nevertheless, in case Pandya leaves, one amongst Rashid Khan or Kane Williamson is likely to take over the captaincy.
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