Reports of Hardik Pandya returning to Mumbai Indians, his original IPL franchise, had surfaced when the transfer window opened ahead of the 2024 IPL auction, set to be held on December 19, 2023.

Pandya had played for the Mumbai Indians from 2015 to 2021, helping them win the title in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, however, Mumbai chose to retain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard, releasing Pandya.

In the same year, the IPL added two more teams – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – to the original eight to make it a ten-team league. The Gujarat franchise acquired Pandya INR 15 crore (US $1.9 million) and appointed him captain.

Under Pandya, Gujarat won the IPL in their maiden appearance, in 2022, and lost the final in a last-ball finish to come runners-up in 2023.

Ahead of the 2023 auction, however, there were reports of Mumbai acquiring him again. Rohit’s continued absence from the Indian T20I side since the 2022 T20 World Cup added to the speculations of him moving away from the format. Pandya, India vice-captain in both limited-overs formats, seemed Mumbai’s obvious choice as Rohit’s replacement at the helm.

On November 26, the Titans added to the drama around Pandya’s future by including him in their list of retained cricketers, while Rohit features in the Mumbai squad.

However, the IPL trading window is still open for seven days, which means there is still time for Mumbai (or any team) to acquire Pandya (or anyone else) from Gujarat (or any other team).

More to follow…