The much talked about return of Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians is all set to be finalised, despite Gujarat Titans naming the all-rounder in their retained list of players ahead of the IPL 2024 auctions.
Pandya, who was GT's skipper in the last two IPL editions, is able to move to MI even after the retention deadline because the trading window is still open. In fact, the trading window is open till December 12, 2023.
However, MI had quite a few challenges to overcome before they brought Pandya back into the fold. And it involved a certain high-profile overseas all-rounder called Cameron Green who was one of the costliest players last season.
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So, let's take a look at how MI managed to trade Hardik Pandya in.
How did MI manage to raise funds to trade in Hardik Pandya?
Hardik Pandya's annual salary is INR 15 crore and MI would've had to pay GT at least that amount to secure his services. However, after the retention list was announced, MI's purse amount was just INR 15.25 crore.
If they had just brought back Pandya, they would've had to go into the IPL 2024 auction with just 25 lakhs in their kitty which would be far from enough to build a complete squad.
MORE: Who will be the costliest buy at IPL 2024 auction?
So, MI ended up making the decision to let go of Cameron Green who scored 452 runs in 16 innings last season including a century. Green cost MI a whopping INR 17.5 crores in last year's auction and his exit would help them bring back Pandya and slightly bump their auction purse.
Cash-rich RCB steps in to buy Green from MI
RCB, who had a huge purse of INR 40.75 crores, were the perfect candidates to bring Green in. The Bengaluru-based franchise has always had strong batting lineup and Green was an attractive propostion for them to join the likes of Kohli and Maxwell.
As a result, RCB's IPL 2024 auction purse came down to INR 23.25 crores while MI's purse went up to INR 32.75 crores (15.25+17.5).
MI trades Pandya from GT for INR 15 Cr + undisclosed transfer free
The next step was for MI to bring in Pandya from GT for a cash deal which would increase GT's purse by INR 15 crores, which is Pandya's league worth (or salary). This would also reduce MI's purse to INR 17.75 crores while increasing GT's purse to INR 28.10 crores.
However, in addition to this, MI will also pay GT a transfer fee from which Pandya would stand to earn about 50% of the amount, as per a report from ESPNCricinfo. The report also states that this particular amount will be disclosed to IPL governing body by GT.
MORE: IPL 2024 Auction: What is the remaining purse for each team?
In the end, MI are happy that they got in an Indian all-rounder and a proven performer who could take over the franchise's leadership from Rohit Sharma, in the future if not now.
RCB have yet another superstar in their batting lineup and still enough cash to build a decent bowling lineup.
GT have got a good cash for Pandya and have burgeoned their auction purse to bring in other stars ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
When is the IPL 2024 auction?
The mini-auction for IPL 2024 is set to be held in Dubai on December 19, 2023.
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