Following the announcement of the Mumbai Indians' retained list of players for the 2025 IPL, skipper Hardik Pandya had a special message for the supporters. In a special video posted on the franchise's official social media account, Hardik thanked the Mumbai Indians for all of their support and the lessons he had learned from them over the years. "Five fingers but one fist" is how he described the five players who were kept: Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Verma. This demonstrated the players' strong relationship and sense of "brotherhood" with one another.
Hardik Pandya speaks on MI's retentions
"5 people who we all have cherished a lot of good memories, together. We are as one. We are five fingers but one fist, that's how I look at it. We are going to come all guns blazing, brotherhood, friendship and at the same point of time we are going to back each other no matter what happens," Hardik said in the video as he was retained for Rs 16.35 crore by the franchise.
Hardik thought back to the victories MI had achieved in the past and wanted to do the same in the next season.
"It has been fantastic. I have been loved back. Everything what I have achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians. Every year is a special year and this is going to be an even more special one. We remember as a group in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. I think all of our fans know what happened in those years, and we are going to come back in 2025 even stronger than that.
Hardik had a difficult first season as MI captain in 2024, as the team finished last in the league. Fans' reactions to the leadership shift were divided, and Hardik was jeered in several places. Later in the year, though, he improved, and he made a big contribution to India's successful 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
"You lose and win on the ground. It is just preparation. I like to work hard, like to prepare well, and I think God has been really kind to me. Have put me in situations where I was able to hold my nerves, and you know something special has come out," Hardik said.
MI will only be able to use their one Right to Match (RTM) option on an uncapped player during the auction because these five capped players are locked in. MI's five-player retention will cost them at least INR 75 crore out of their INR 120 crore budget, and maybe more if larger sums were negotiated, even if the retention amounts for each player are still unknown.
