Hardik Pandya Bids Farewell To Ishan Kishan, MI's Pocket Dynamo
Mumbai Indians failed to retain their pocket dynamo in the IPL 2025 mega auction. He joined the team in 2018, becoming an important player for the franchise. His aggressive batting approach and excellent wicketkeeping abilities made him a key asset for the team, used to open the innings sometimes and contribute in the middle order. In the mega auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week, Ishan Kishan’s bid began with Rs 2 crore, and MI tried to ensure that they could buy him. Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals also came to the forefront to buy him, with the bid standing at Rs 10 crore. But Sunrisers Hyderabad stole Kishan and won the bid for Rs 11.25 crore.
The five-time champions retained five players before the mega auction, which were Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma. Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya, in a video, shared his views on Ishan Kishan, stating that Ishan Kishan will remain their pocket dynamo forever.
Pandya said that Ishan has been the energy of the room; when MI could not retain him, everyone always knew that it would be very difficult for them to get him back because of the player he is.
“Ishan has been the freshness and the energy of the room. When we could not retain him, we always knew it was going to be very difficult to get him back from the auction simply because of the kind of player he is and the kind of skillsets he brings.”
Further, Pandya said that Ishan always used to keep the dressing room alive and make everyone smile a lot. He used to bring so much love to the team; this is something everyone in the group will be missing.
“He always used to keep the dressing room alive, used to make a lot of people smile; that love and warmth came very naturally to the team. That was Ishan, who used to bring so much love to this team. That is something as a group that we are going to miss. Ishan Kishan, you are always going to be MI’s pocket dynamo, and we’re all going to miss you, and we all love you.”