Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya is reportedly set to leave the franchise. The star all-rounder began his Indian Premier League career with MI in 2015 and played for the team until 2021. Ahead of the next season, newcomers Gujarat Titans acquired Hardik and appointed him as captain. He led the new team for two seasons before returning to Mumbai as captain. Under Hardik’s leadership, in three seasons of the IPL, MI finished 10th, third and ninth respectively.
A total of seven franchises are showing interest in acquiring Hardik during the transfer window, says a report in The Times of India. The publication claims that only Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are not in the race for the all-rounder.
Among the interested franchises, Chennai Super Kings is the frontrunner, giving a tough fight to Kolkata Knight Riders, the report claims, while adding that Rajasthan Royals is also among the serious contenders to acquire Hardik.
Hardik has shifted his base to Bengaluru with a view to making the BCCI’s Center of Excellence (COE) his permanent training base for the rest of his career, reports PTI.
The move is unique as centrally contracted Indian players usually visit the Center of Excellence (COE) only for injury rehabilitation, fitness assessments or national camps. Although Pandya hails from Baroda in Gujarat, he has spent most of the last decade living in Mumbai and training primarily at his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians’ base in Ghansoli.
The 32-year-old, who is currently recovering from a quadriceps injury and has been ruled out of the ongoing UK white-ball tour, has spent significant time at the COE over the past six months.
“Hardik has already moved to Bangalore permanently. He rented property on the outskirts of town, close to the COE. He will be the first Indian cricketer to make COE his permanent training base for the remainder of his career,” a BCCI source told the agency.
“Hardik wanted to leave Mumbai as commuting from his home in Lower Parel for training every day had become a problem. As a centrally contracted cricketer, he has access to all COE facilities, from injury treatment to training.
“So he has decided to make the CE his permanent base whenever he is not on IPL, state or national duties,” the source said.
(With PTI inputs)
Featured Video of the Day
IPL 2026 News | RCB beat CSK for second win at Trota, Ruturaj Gaikwad and company suffer third defeat
Topics mentioned in this article