• Source:JND
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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya recently extended his heartfelt message to his former teammate Ishan Kishan, who will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. According to Pandya, Ishan will forever be known as the “pocket-dynamo” of MI.

Pandya also expressed that the team knew it would be difficult to retain Kishan, given the challenges of the IPL retention rules.

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The Mumbai Indians captain provided insight into the franchise’s reason for not being able to retain Kishan who had been with the side since 2018. In a video posted by MI on its social media handles, Pandya said the team was mindful of the difficulties of bringing back Kishan once he went up for the mega auction.

"Ishan has been the ‘freshness’ and the ‘energy’ of the room. When we couldn’t retain him, we always knew that it’s gonna be very difficult to get him back from the auction simply because we knew that, the kind of player and kind of skillset he brings. He always used to be keep the dressing room light, has made a lot of people smile," said Hardik.

Pandya was also sweet in remembering Ishan’s presence in the team and that the wicketkeeper-batter was someone who had a lot of affection and warmth naturally.

"That love and warmth, it came very natural to him and there will be less cake smashing, less pranks happening on people. That was Ishan and who used to bring so much love to this team, that is something as a group we are going to miss. Ishan Kishan, you always be MI’s pocket dynamo. We all gonna miss you and we all love you," said Hardik.

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Kishan’s lien with the Mumbai Indians began in 2018 when he made a brilliant debut in the Indian Premier League. Playing his first season, Kishan managed to impress with his bat, scoring 275 runs at a strike rate of 150.

Ahead of the IPL mega auction in 2022, the franchise was able to buy him for a total value of Rs 15.25 crore.