Indian Premier League: Decoding the biggest trade deals
The Indian Premier League 2024 auction is less than a month away and teams are actively looking to make last-minute changes before submitting their retained players list on November 26. The news of Mumbai Indians trading in Hardik Pandya has taken social media by storm. It has to be the tournament's biggest trade ever. Hence we decode the top trade deals in the IPL.
Why does this story matter?
As per reports, Mumbai Indians have shelled out Rs. 15 crore to Gujarat Titans to bring back Hardik. The swashbuckling all-rounder guided GT to two IPL finals, winning the title in 2022. GT will not take any player in return from MI and will enter the auction with a huge purse. Overall, this looks like a great deal for all three parties.
Shardul Thakur (DC to KKR for INR 10.75 crore)
Ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction, Kolkata Knight Riders traded for Shardul Thakur for a fee of Rs. 10.75 crore, the amount at which he was bought by DC. However, the all-rounder was a huge letdown as he finished with seven wickets and 113 runs from 11 matches last season for KKR. Overall, Thakur has scalped 89 IPL wickets while scoring 286 runs.
Quinton de Kock's move from RCB to Mumbai Indians
Quinton de Kock's move from RCB to Mumbai Indians was the first trade in IPL 2019. RCB had bought the South African dasher for Rs 2.8 crore during the 2018 auction but traded him after his poor performances. But de Kock settled nicely at MI and slammed 1,329 runs in three years, lifting two IPL crowns in 2019 and 2020.
Shikhar Dhawan was traded back to Delhi Capitals by SRH
Shikhar Dhawan was part of a unique trade as three more players were involved in the deal ahead of IPL 2019. Dhawan moved back to Delhi Capitals from Sunrisers Hyderabad while Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma joined SRH. It was a fruitful deal for Dhawan and DC as the opening batter smashed 1,695 runs in three IPL seasons for the Capitals.
Trent Boult's move from DC to MI
Ahead of the IPL 2020 season, Trent Boult was traded from DC to MI which turned out to be one of the greatest trades in the tournament's history. The NZ speedster played a vital role In helping MI win the IPL title that season by claiming 25 wickets. Boult also picked up the Man of the Match award (3/34) in the final against DC.
Hardik Pandya's big move back to MI
Undoubtedly the biggest trade in IPL history as Hardik moves back to Mumbai after leading GT to two IPL finals, winning the one in 2022. MI didn't retain him ahead of the 2022 mega auction as he wanted a captaincy role and GT picked him as their marquee player. Hardik amassed 833 runs in 31 innings for GT at 37.86 while scalping 11 wickets.
