R Ashwin’s humorous perspective on Hardik Pandya’s return to Mumbai: “Got an MBA and came back.”

 In essence, R Ashwin remarked on his YouTube channel, “He went to GT, became a leader, got an MBA, and came back home.”On Monday, November 27, all-around player Hardik Pandya of India and the Gujarat Titans (GT) officially announced that he will be returning to his former Indian Premier League (IPL) team, the Mumbai Indians (MI). There were a lot of rumors about Pandya being traded back to MI before the players’ retention deadline on November 26. But none of the teams confirmed the deal, and GT even included Hardik on their list of players who would be kept.

MI also transferred Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an all-cash deal worth INR 17.5 crore to boost their purse and help with Hardik’s integration process.

R Ashwin, an off-spinner for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and India, recently commented on the dramatic recent developments, saying that MI has seemingly struck gold by having “got an MBA degree and came back home.”

“Green moved to RCB from the Mumbai Indians. This is a simple swap. The Mumbai Indians have made their money known. Green for Hardik is an odd trade-in. Their finances allow them to get one spinner and one overseas fast bowler, and Mumbai’s decision is essentially made. That’s over and done. They’ve struck gold. Since MI has an Indian T20 captain who has won an IPL and been runner-up in 2023, it really isn’t even a like-to-like. In essence, R Ashwin remarked on his YouTube channel, “He went to GT, became a leader, got an MBA, and came back home.”

Notably, Hardik cost INR 10 lakh to be acquired by the Mumbai Indians as an uncapped player at the 2015 auction. His life took a significant turn for the better after that, as he advanced through the MI camp’s levels and was essential to their four championship wins. Success off the field translated into financial success as well, as by the 2018 season, his income had risen by 110 times to an incredible 11 crore.

In their first season, Gujarat won the IPL under Hardik Pandya’s leadership.

The franchise parted ways with Hardik prior to the 2022 mega auction, and the newly formed Gujarat Titans signed him. In their maiden IPL season, Hardik guided his team to victory, and he also guided them to the 2023 championship game.

And now, in front of the 2024 season, he has returned to the team that gave him his start and is regarded as the one who will carry on Rohit Sharma’s legacy in the years to come.