Even though the IPL auction saw record-breaking deals for Australians Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, the most talked about deal of the season was Hardik Pandya's sensational trade from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction.
Mumbai signed Pandya in a mega transfer deal from the Titans in a deal worth Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million).
Apparently, MI paid a massive transfer fee of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) to the Titans to complete the deal.
'By selling Hardik, GT's purse went up by Rs 15 crore and they also got a transfer fee that only IPL will know. Speculation runs rife about the amount, with some quoting an outlandish figure of Rs 100 crore,' said a report in the The Indian Express on Monday.
'The earnings from the Hardik trade will reflect on the CV Capitals balance sheet at the end of the financial year and this is expected to result in a spike in its valuation,' the newspaper reported.
'For an investment firm into buying and selling, this was as important as winning an IPL title. In years to come, if the fund manager owning GT plans to sell its stake, partly or fully, such trades would help them get a good deal.'
A transfer fee is involved when a player is traded from his existing IPL team to another team and is decided by the player himself and the selling team.
The player who is sold is also likely to earn a certain percentage from the transfer fee if he already has an agreement in place with his existing team.
One big reason why MI moved for Hardik was because of the IPL mega auction, which takes places every three years, scheduled in December 2024.
All the 10 franchises will be allowed to retain four players for the next three seasons and MI felt Hardik was one for the future in place of Rohit, who at 36, is nearing the end of his career.
'It is learnt that the one big factor that forced MI to take the difficult leadership call was the IPL's unique retention rule. 2024 happens to be the last season before the mega auction that takes place every three years,' the Express report added.
'2025 will be the year of the big churn, it will be the time when teams will list four players they would wish to stick by till 2028.'
