Hardik Pandya retained by Gujarat Titans amid reports of trade to Mumbai Indians | Cricket

HGujarat Titans have retained Hardik Pandya amid multiple reports of the all-rounder being traded to Mumbai Indians, the franchise confirmed on Sunday. Hardik was heavily linked with a move to Mumbai Indians but on the retention deadline day (November 26), the Titans have retained their skipper. Interestingly, Mumbai Indians have also retained Rohit Sharma. The Titans have released eight players including three overseas stars in Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, and Dasun Shanaka, while Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel and Pradeep Sangwan are the Indian players released by the franchise.

Hardik Pandya was picked by Gujarat Titans in the draft ahead of the 2022 mega auction and had steered the franchise to victory in its maiden season in the tournament. The Pandya-led side had defeated Rajasthan Royals in the final, and had also reached the title clash in the 2023 season before facing a close defeat to Chennai Super Kings.

Hardik was widely speculated to make a spectacular return to MI ahead of the 2024 season; it was at the Mumbai-based franchise where Hardik began his journey in the tournament. He was released by MI ahead of the 2022 season after injuries derailed his career; the all-rounder, then, made himself unavailable for international selection as he focussed on his recovery and rehab, and made a return to professional cricket with the Titans.

Following an impressive comeback, Hardik made a comeback to the national team and was made the captain of Indian T20I side following the World Cup last year. The all-rounder remains the skipper of the side in the shortest format as Rohit Sharma remains absent from T20Is.

Hardik scored 487 runs in 15 matches in the 2022 edition while batting majorly at no.3 or 4; in this year’s IPL, Hardik scored 346 runs at a strike rate of 136.76.

Here is the complete list of players retained by Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2024 auction:

Retained: Hardik Pandya, Abhinav Manohar, Mohammed Shami, Sai Sudharsan, Mohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Matthew Wade, David Miller, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Joshua Little, Rashid Khan.

Released: KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan.