Ishan Kishan's stint with Mumbai Indians (MI) came to an end when the five-time champions decided not to retain him for IPL 2025. In a competitive bidding war at the IPL Auction 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finally prevailed and ended up securing Kishan's services for Rs 11.25 crores.
Hardik Pandya's heartwarming message for Ishan Kishan
Meanwhile, in a heartfelt video message shared by MI, captain Hardik Pandya expressed his sentiments towards Kishan.
"Ishan has been the ‘freshness’ and the ‘energy’ of the room. When we couldn’t retain him, we always knew that it’s gonna be very difficult to get him back from the auction simply because we knew that, the kind of player and kind of skillset he brings. He always used to be keep the dressing room light, has made a lot of people smile," Pandya said in a video shared by MI.
Pandya emphasized Kishan's positive impact on the team's dynamics. He acknowledged the challenges of retaining Kishan in the auction, recognizing his exceptional talent and contributions to the team's success.
"That love and warmth, it came very natural to him and there will be less cake smashing, less pranks happening on people. That was Ishan and who used to bring so much love to this team, that is something as a group we are going to miss. Ishan Kishan, you always be MI’s pocket-dynamo. We all gonna miss you and we all love you," he further stated.
Kishan's IPL journey kicked off in 2016 when he was picked up by the Gujarat Lions. The franchise retained him for the following year. In 2018, he joined MI and drew everyone's attention after amassing 275 runs at an impressive strike rate of 150.
The 2020 season was a standout year for Kishan, as he scored 516 runs and was the leading run-scorer for the Mumbai-based franchise. He also won the award for hitting the most sixes that season.
Recognising his potential, Mumbai Indians retained Kishan for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, investing a whopping amount of ₹15.25 crores in him. However, MI had to let go their star player and Kishan's 7-year-long stint finally came to an end.
Talking about MI's picks in the IPL 2025 mega auction, they were active bidders, acquiring 18 players across two days. The franchise made some big signings including Kiwi pacer Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, and Mitchell Santner.
Mumbai Indians' full squad for IPL 2025:
Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult (Rs. 12.50 crore), Naman Dhir (Rs. 5.25 crore), Robin Minz (Rs. 65 lakh), Karn Sharma (Rs. 50 lakh), Ryan Rickelton (Rs. 1 crore), Deepak Chahar (Rs. 9.25 crore), Allah Ghazanfar (Rs. 4.80 crore), Will Jacks (Rs. 5.25 crore), Ashwani Kumar (Rs. 30 lakh), Mitchell Santner (Rs. 2 crore), Reece Topley (Rs. 75 lakh), Krishnan Shrijith (Rs. 30 lakh), Raj Angad Bawa (Rs. 30 lakh), Satyanarayana Raju (Rs. 30 lakh), Bevon Jacobs (Rs. 30 lakh), Arjun Tendulkar (Rs. 30 lakh), Lizaad Williams (Rs. 75 lakh), Vignesh Puthur (Rs. 30 lakh).