Hardik Pandya expressed desire to return to Mumbai Indians: Gujarat Titans Director Vikram Solanki

Vikram Solanki, the Director of Cricket for Gujarat Titans (GT), has revealed that Hardik Pandya had expressed his desire to return to his former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), following the official confirmation of the eagerly-anticipated trade. The IPL announced the double trade, with Hardik moving back to Mumbai, and Cameron Green traded to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

In a statement on Monday, Solanki extended his best wishes to Hardik for his future endeavors. He acknowledged the all-rounder's significant contribution to GT's title victory in their inaugural season (IPL 2022). Notably, GT reached the final for the second consecutive time in 2023 under Hardik but narrowly missed out on the title as they suffered a defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a rain-affected clash in Ahmedabad.

"As the first captain of Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya has helped the franchise deliver two fantastic seasons that resulted in winning one IPL championship (2022) and one appearance in the final (2023). He has now expressed a desire to return to his original team Mumbai Indians. We respect his decision and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours," Solanki said.

Hardik's impressive journey with the Titans led to him being selected as India’s T20I captain when the team missed the services of regular skipper Rohit Sharma. The 30-year-old has emerged as a strong contender to succeed Rohit as team India captain in the shortest format ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, uncertainty surrounds whether he will lead MI in the upcoming IPL season in IPL 2024, as the five-time champions have retained Rohit as their captain.

Hardik has played seven seasons with MI, after making his IPL debut in 2015 and culminating his stint with a title triumph in 2021. Meanwhile, for the IPL 2024 season, Gujarat Titans have appointed Shubman Gill, the standout performer from the previous edition, as their new captain.