“RCB did a huge favour to MI, Hardik Pandya deal wouldn’t have happened otherwise”, says Aakash Chopra.
Former Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya has dominated headlines with his move to join the Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season. Following successful stints both as captain and player, the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians expressed interest in re-signing the dynamic all-rounder. However, financial constraints posed a hurdle, prompting the need to release some players for the transaction.In a surprising turn, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) expressed interest in signing Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, the second-highest-paid cricketer in IPL history. RCB’s move facilitated the release of funds by Mumbai Indians, creating the opportunity to secure Hardik Pandya.Aakash Chopra, analyzing the situation, highlighted RCB’s pivotal role in the transaction, asserting that Mumbai Indians wouldn’t have completed the trade without their support. Chopra also acknowledged Mumbai’s strategic maneuvering to make this deal possible, emphasizing the significance of such transactions in the IPL ecosystem.
Chopra said RCB did a huge favour to Mumbai because if this deal had not happened, the Hardik deal too wouldn’t have happened. Things have changed suddenly. It wouldn’t have been a bad idea to stop that Hardik’s deal by not doing this deal. I am seeing it from Bangalore’s perspective and not from Mumbai’s.
“They MI would have released him. Would you have got Cameron Green more expensive than 17.5 crores if they had released him? If you had over Rs 40 crore and then you wanted to buy Green in the auction, you could have got him. Mumbai Indians, well done.”