'They were willing to give as much money as possible, but..' - Ravichandran Ashwin recalls unsuccessful IPL trade deal

After the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 retention list was revealed on Sunday, the headline-making news was Hardik Pandya's return to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans. Although Gujarat Titans had initially named Hardik Pandya in the IPL 2024 retention list, sources informed NDTV a couple of hours after the deadline that the Indian T20I cricket team captain had been traded to Mumbai Indians. The move was officially confirmed by the IPL on Monday.

The legendary India spinner Ashwin made an intriguing observation regarding the player release philosophy of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the two most successful teams in IPL history. Ashwin even shed light on the fact that trading or releasing many players is uncommon in the IPL. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, with five titles each, have built their franchises by consistently taking players rather than giving them away. This trend differs from many other IPL teams.

Speaking on his YouTube Channel Ashwin recalled that when he was the skipper of the Punjab franchise at that time MI expressed a strong desire to trade for David Miller, offering significant financial incentives. However, Miller sought a player exchange, a proposal that the team did not come close to accepting during the negotiations.

"When I was Punjab captain, Mumbai Indians showed heavy interest in trading David Miller. They were willing to give as much money as possible, but I wanted a player trade-off as that is what the team would need, which they never came close to agreeing to," added Ashwin, while speaking in Tamil on a YouTube channel. 

It was a very interesting move: Ashwin

The veteran India spinner also drew a relation that Mumbai Indians' acquisition of Hardik Pandya is likened to a parent offering their son financial support to explore the world and pursue an MBA. Pandya's leadership stint with Gujarat Titans resulted in an IPL title and a runner-up position, showcasing his impactful contributions.

"After Hardik, they have landed gold. They have got an Indian T20 Team captain, who has won an IPL and became runner-up in the last two years in which he was away. It's like calling up your son and telling him, 'Hey son, here's some money go live the world, man. Go and get an MBA degree. So he basically went to GT, became a leader, got an MBA degree and came back home. It's crazy man. He has won a title and become a runner-up, and he became a title by the margin of one ball, here and there,” Ashwin added.