'Mumbai Indians will remain in my heart forever' - Hardik Pandya pens emotional note after not being retained

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya thanked IPL franchise Mumbai Indians with an emotional post on his social media accounts after he was not retained by the team ahead of the mega auctions before the IPL 2022.

Though Pandya had an off-season in 2021, when he could score only 127 runs from 12 games at a poor average of 14.11 and an uncharacteristic strike rate of 113.39, he enjoyed great success with the team ever since debut year 2015, including four IPL titles.

He was retained ahead of the 2018 mega auctions, although Pandya failed to make the cut in 2021, with Mumbai retaining skipper Rohit Sharma for INR 16 crores Sharma in the first slot, pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the second for INR 12 crores, middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav in the third for INR 8 crores and Caribbean all-rounder Kieron Pollard for INR 6 crore in the fourth and final slot.

Pandya, who has played each one of his 92 IPL games with Mumbai Indians, scoring 1476 runs at a strike rate of 153.91 apart from picking 42 wickets, on December 2, wrote:

“My journey with @mumbaiindians .. I’ll carry these memories with me for the rest of my life, I’ll carry these moments with me for the rest of my life. The friendships I’ve made, the bonds that have been formed, the people, the fans, I’ll always be grateful. I’ve grown not just as a player but as a person. I came here as a youngster with big dreams – we won together, we lost together, we fought together. Every moment with this team has a special place in my heart. They say all good things must end but @mumbaiindians will remain in my heart forever.”

Now that he is released, he will be available to be picked by the two new franchises – Lucknow and Ahmedabad, who have time until December 25 to pick a maximum of three non-retained players (not more than two Indians and not more than one overseas) each before the mega auction, likely to be held in early January.

 

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A post shared by Hardik Himanshu Pandya (@hardikpandya93)