India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has expressed his gratitude on being retained by IPL franchise Mumbai Indians who have stuck to their core players for the new season this year. Captain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah as well found a place in the retention list that was held yesterday in Mumbai. The cash-rich Indian Premier League's franchises had to submit a list of players they intended to retain prior to the season auctions.
Hardik Pandya uploaded a twitter post with a caption 'Mumbai Indians is where I began my successful journey in cricket. I am privileged to continue being a part of the MI family. #CricketMeriJaan @mipaltan'.
The 25-year old has often been compared to former Indian skipper and World Cup winner Kapil Dev as his attributes and aggressive mentality have been instrumental in India's success in the limited over's format recently and with him being retained by the MI squad, the all-rounder will seize every moment to make the most of his time with the Rohit Sharma led side.
Pandya played a significant role to guide Mumbai Indians lift the IPL trophy for the third time as he took six wickets and made 250 runs.
What comes as a bit of a surprise are a few names that have played a major role as well for the MI success in the past years such as Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, veteran player Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell Johnson. The Sri Lankan pacer has been with the IPL franchise since their inception in the league but has failed to deliver in recent times as he managed to collect just 11 wickets last season.
It has been learnt that Mumbai Indians can retain two more players through the Right to Match card during the auctions which will be held on January 27 and 28.
Mumbai Indians retained
Rohit Sharma
Jasprit Bumrah
Hardik Pandya
