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Pandya opened up about the camaraderie between the five players MI opted to retain, including Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and himself, and expressed togetherness in their pursuit of a sixth title.
IPL side Mumbai Indians decided to hold on to their Indian core with the retentions of skipper Hardik Pandya, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, batters Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadava and Tilak Varma on Thursday as they submitted their retention list ahead of the highly-anticipated mega auction.
Pandya expressed his joy at being able to continue his journey with MI citing instances from the past that have led to the maverick all-rounder becoming the star he is today.
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“Playing for MI has been fantastic. I’ve received a lot of love back there and it means the world to me,” Pandya began.
“The reason being that my journey started here. Everything that I’ve achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians,” he reflected.
“We remember, as a group, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. All our fans know what happened in those years. We are going to come back in 2025 even stronger than that,” he reiterated.
“You lose and win on the ground. It is just preparation. I like to work hard. I like to prepare well,” he added.
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Bumrah was the costliest of the MI list as the seamer was retained for a value of Rs 18 Crores. Pandya and Suryakumar were handed Rs 16.35 Crores each, while Rohit was just behind at Rs 16.3 Crores. Tilak was handed Rs 8 Crores for his continuation with the five-time winners.
Pandya opened up about the camaraderie between the players MI opted to retain and expressed togetherness in their pursuit of a sixth title.
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“Five people who we all have cherished a lot of good memories together. We are one. We are five fingers but one fist. That’s how I look at it. We are going to come in all guns blazing, with brotherhood, and friendship and at the same point of time we are going to back each other no matter what happens,” the 31-year-old added.