All IPL franchises are expected to submit their retention list by October 31
A former Indian Premier League (IPL) coach has issued a strong caution to five-time winners Mumbai Indians ahead of the upcoming IPL 2025 auction.
Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody, who had coached the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL, questioned MI captain Hardik Pandya’s retention value ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. Notably, MI had signed Hardik Pandya back from Gujarat Titans ahead of the last season (IPL 2024) for a staggering amount of INR 15 crore and also handed over the team’s captaincy to the all-rounder, removing Rohit Sharma from the position.
All IPL franchises are expected to submit their retention list by October 31 before the mega auction takes place possibly in November.
Echoing on the same lines and speaking bout MI’s retention strategies, Moody told ESPNcricinfo,
“The way that things panned out in the last edition of the IPL, he would be, I think, a little bit disillusioned with what happened over the last 6-12 months. I would have Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav in the 18-crore bracket, and Hardik at 14. Leaving is up to him or you can put it down to his performance, form and fitness. And when you dissect all of those areas with Hardik Pandya, does he deserve to be an 18 crore player? Is he worth?.”
“If you’ve got to be an 18 crore player, you’ve got to be a genuine match-winner and do it regularly. Hardik Pandya, through his trials and tribulations over the last edition of the IPL was struggling with both fitness and performance,” Moody added.
Pandya’s homecoming was however not what he had hoped for. Pandya had an extremely average outing, averaging at a paltry 18 with a bowling economy of 10. He also endured a dismal season as a leader as MI finished at the bottom of the standings with only four wins in 14 matches. Pandya was even the victim of hate and boos from MI fans since replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm.
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