Hardik Pandya back in Mumbai Indians after drama
New Delhi, Nov 26: India’s T20I captain Hardik Pandya on Sunday returned to his “spiritual home” Mumbai Indians after an all-cash deal trade-off with Gujarat Titans was formally completed following 72 hours of intense drama.
On Sunday at 5 pm, the IPL retention window was closed and at that point, Gujarat Titans named their IPL-winning captain in the retention list raising a lot of eyebrows.However it was learnt that the formal paperwork wasn’t yet completed and hence IPL and BCCI didn’t give greenlight of approval for the most anticipated move of this transfer season.“Yes, Hardik’s trade off got completed after 5 pm. The deal is now formalised and he is a MI player. It’s been a tripartite all cash deal. MI have traded their all-rounder Cameron Green to RCB in an all cash deal. After that they had requisite funds to settle an all-cash deal with Gujarat Titans and procure Hardik’s services,” a senior BCCI official and IPL Governing Council member told PTI on conditions of anonymity.(PTI)
KKR release Thakur, Ferguson; SRH let go Brook,Tyagi
New Delhi, Nov 26: Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders have retained the West Indies duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, while releasing 12 players, including India all-rounder Shardul Thakur and New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson.On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad have let go of six players, including England batter Harry Brook and uncapped India pacer Kartik Tyagi. Ferguson played only three matches last season due to a hamstring injury, which was also the reason for Thakur missing a few matches in IPL 2023. Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee have also been released by KKR.Brook, meanwhile, was released by SRH after being bought for a whopping INR 13.25 crores. But he couldn’t set the stage on fire in IPL 2023, making 190 runs in 11 matches, including a century.Right-arm fast-bowler Tyagi wasn’t given much game time in the franchise, and has been let go of. SRH have also released Akeal Hosein, Adil Rashid, Vivrant Sharma and Samarth Vyas. KKR now have a purse of INR 32.5 crore, while SRH have a remaining purse of INR 34 crore. (IANS)
Jaydev Unadkat, Daniel Sams released by Super Giants
New Delhi, Nov 26: India’s left-arm fast-bowler Jaydev Unadkat and Australia’s left-arm pace all-rounder Daniel Sams have been released by Lucknow Super Giants. The franchise, though, has retained Kyle Mayers, Quinton de Kock and Mark Wood.“LSG has built a strong foundation in the past two years and achieved good success. We want to take it to the next level by improving our squad constantly and that is what we will try to achieve in the auction,” said new head coach Justin Langer.They had previously traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai Indians, while bringing in Devdutt Padikkal via a trade from Rajasthan Royals, with Avesh Khan moving on to the Jaipur-based franchise. LSG had made it to the playoffs twice – in IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons. (IANS)
Rajasthan release Holder, McCoy; Punjab let go Rajapaksa
New Delhi, Nov 26: West Indies duo of Jason Holder and Obed McCoy have been let go of by Rajasthan Royals, while Sri Lanka’s left-handed batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa and uncapped India all-rounder Shahrukh Khan have been released by Punjab Kings on IPL 2024 Retentions Day.Rajasthan has retained 12 Indians and five overseas players, and announced earlier this week that top order batter Devdutt Padikkal was traded to Lucknow Super Giants, with pacer Avesh Khan joining the franchise in exchange. (IANS)