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After enduring three disappointing IPL seasons under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, the Mumbai Indians are still not ready to part ways with the star all-rounder, sources told CricBlogger.
The five-time IPL champions believe that letting go of Hardik the player would only strengthen a rival franchise. As a result, the management is keen to retain him for his all-round abilities rather than as captain.
However, there is a twist. Despite Mumbai’s desire to retain him, Hardik may not play for the franchise again after a series of frustrations and the bad blood that developed within the team following his appointment as captain.
By the virtue of being all-rounder, Hardik has s huge standing as a player in IPL. Even as am IPL captain, he won the 2022 IPL title for Gujarat Titans and even played the final against Chennai in the following year. But his success story as an IPL captain received a massive jolt when he joined the Mumbai franchise from 2024 season onwards. Last year, Mumbai did reach the knock-out stages but it didn’t look like a team that won five IPL titles.
From the look of it, Hardik is unlikely to play for Mumbai Indians again. However, any move will depend on the franchise agreeing to a trade. For now, Hardik is not in talks with any IPL team, as he is waiting for interested franchises to officially approach Mumbai Indians before taking the next step.
