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He was in shock when Mumbai Indians did not retain him: Ravi Shastri reveals untold story about Hardik Pandya

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed untold story about Hardik Pandya. Shastri revealed Pandya's reaction to not being part of the list of players retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2022. Pandya was picked by Gujarat Titans and led them to title victory in their debut season in the league.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Jul 16, 2022, 16:37 IST

Hardik Pandya was not retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2022 IPL |Courtesy-BCCI/IPL

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Mumbai Indians had not retained Hardik Pandya ahead of IPL 2022
Gujarat Titans picked him ahead of the mega-auction
Pandya led GT to the title in their debut season in the league

After having a troubled season with Mumbai Indians (MI) and a dismal T20 World Cup for India, Hardik Pandya had a redemption season in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he led Gujarat Titans (GT) to title victory in their debut season in the cash-rich league.

In a move that left many fans and cricket experts shocked, MI did not retain Hardik ahead of the 2022 season. GT, who were one of the two new teams entering the competition in the 15th edition took the opportunity and signed him up in the pre-auction draft for Rs. 15 crore and named him the captain.

Pandya enjoyed a dream run in his captaincy debut in the world's richest cricket league as GT dominated the tournament from the start to finish. They completed a fairytale season by lifting the crown at their home venue -Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. GT beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the summit clash.

While Hardik has not made himself one of Indian cricket's most important white-ball players again, ex-Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed an untold tale about the star all-rounder. Shastri explained that Hardik was shocked after MI decided to not retain him ahead of the 2022 season.

"It shocked him when he was not retained by Mumbai Indians," said Shastri in the commentery box during the India-England ODI at Lord's on Thursday. "It was tough... MI had Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharna, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya so they had to pick three out of those five. Ishan Kishan was obviously picked in the auction," Shastri further stated.

"He was picked by Gujarat Titans, where he was given the extra responsibility of captaining, which did him a world of good. When given responsibility, he's a completely different cricket as opposed to just batting and fielding," he added.

After taking the tough call to not retain Pandya, MI picked skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav as their three Indian retentions alongside Kieron Pollard. The five-time champions finished last on the table for the first time in history after winning just four games in the season.

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