Gujarat Titans on Sunday retained premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya as their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, amid speculations that he could join Mumbai Indians ahead of the December 19 auction.
Hardik Pandya, 30, had joined Gujarat Titans as their captain in 2022 and led them to title in the maiden season itself, before qualifying for the summit clash of IPL 2023. However, they couldn't retain the trophy as they lost to MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.
Speculations were rife that Pandya could rejoin Mumbai Indians, ending his two-year association with the Titans. Some reports even suggested that the five-time champions may appoint him as captain over veteran Rohit Sharma.
It was expected to be an all-cash trade with Mumbai but in the end, Pandya and the Titans seem to have found a way out to continue their journey together, at least for now.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based franchise confirmed that 'Hitman' Rohit Sharma will remain its captain for IPL 2024, but released England pacer Jofra Archer, who is still recuperating from an elbow surgery.
List of Retained and Released players
Mumbai Indians [Retained]: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Dewald Brevis, SKY, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Cam Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd (trade).
[Released]: Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier.
Gujarat Titans [Retained]: Hardik Pandya (Captain), David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma.
[Released]: Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka.