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Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja who was MI Emirates' batting coach in ILT20 2024, feels that Mumbai Indians (MI) may look to use the Right to Match (RTM) card to retain their captain Hardik Pandya. Last season, Pandya made a comeback to MI and replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of the five-time IPL-winning franchise. He was roped in for a reported fee of Rs 15 crore. Pandya is highly likely to lead MI despite the franchise finishing at the bottom of the points table in the last season.
Despite Pandya redeeming himself at the T20 World Cup 2024, Jadeja feels that the franchise will look to retain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the mega auction. Jadeja picked Rohit as one of the retentions despite several reports of him playing for another IPL franchise.
"I'd say, players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, are undoubtedly the three players who will be retained by MI. It is impossible to get these players if put up for auction. Moreover, I think that MI can use their RTM card for Hardik Pandya. Yes, the kind of player he is, you might not get him either (in the auction). But there is a chance that his injury tendencies might make the other franchises not be able to open up their banks for him," Jadeja told JioCinema.
"If you have an RTM, they you can use their advantage. I am not saying that this decides the player's calibre or power, but if you look at a player like Bumrah and his value and then Hardik Pandya on the market, it will be a difficult business," the 53-year-old added.
Why using RTM for Pandya may be a bad idea
On September 28, the IPL governing council announced that each franchise can retain only one player via RTM card in the mega auction. While Jadeja believes that MI may use RTM for Pandya, the fast-bowling all-rounder may be on the list of several franchises in the auction and MI may end up spending more on him than they would be by retaining him earlier.
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