Even though MI spent INR 16.35 Cr each on Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, at the IPL retention on Friday, the team persisted with the former as the skipper for the team. Under the leadership of Pandya, MI had a horrid season last year, where in 14 matches, the team only managed to win 4, losing 10. That performance, and the presence of players like Jasprit Bumrah, Surya, and Rohit Sharma, had raised a lot of questions.
But it seems, the all-rounder seems to have done just enough to be the skipper once again. Mind you, Hardik Pandya had been an excellent skipper for GT in 2022 and 2023, where he took them to two back-to-back finals, and also won a trophy. And, of course, MI just wanted to give him another chance.
Having said that, the pick has come over Suryakumar Yadav, who is the current India skipper. That might, perhaps give rise to two power channels in the team, like was pretty evident in the 2024 season, where it seemed, all was not well between Rohit Sharma and Pandya.
In fact, the crowd support was a major factor this year. While the fans whole-heartedly supported MI and Rohit, there were boos and abuses reserved for the former. All that might come to a change now, because since then Pandya too has added a T20 World Cup Trophy in his cabinet, where he played a crucial role in winning the final.
MI Retention
As far as the other retentions for the team are concerned, Tilak Varma was retained for 8 Cr, Rohit Sharma for 16 Cr, and Jasprit Bumrah bagged a massive 18 Cr. In fact, MI broke the bank to retain these players, with over 74 Cr being spent on these players.
Hardik Pandya (All-rounder): INR 16.35 crore
Rohit Sharma (Batter): INR 16 crore
Jasprit Bumrah (Bowler): INR 18 crore
Suryakumar Yadav (Batter): 16.35 INR crore
Tilak Varma (Batter): INR 8 crore
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