"It's simply about money, there's no way that Mumbai Indians didn't want Hardik Pandya" - Daniel Vettori ahead of IPL Auction 2022

Daniel Vettori believes Mumbai Indians' (MI) decision to not retain Hardik Pandya for IPL 2022 was made purely based on financials. The former New Zealand spinner feels that every franchise, including MI, would love Pandya on their side, but the five-time champions just couldn't convince him to stay.

MI have retained Rohit Sharma (₹16 crores), Jasprit Bumrah (₹12 crores), Suryakumar Yadav (₹8 crores) and Kieron Pollard (₹6 crores) for the next three years. If Hardik Pandya was retained, he would have got only the third spot which would have meant a pay cut of at least ₹3 crores from last season.

Speaking on the subject to ESPNcricinfo, Daniel Vettori said:

"It's simply about money, it has to be. There's no way that Mumbai [Indians] didn't want Hardik Pandya, every franchise wants him. But they would have only been able to offer him that third spot because and Bumrah and Rohit rightly take up those two slots."

Daniel Vettori also quoted Venky Mysore, the Kolkata Knight Riders owner, saying successful IPL teams often face this issue where they can't hold onto some of their best players.

Daniel Vettori explained:

"So unfortunately for Mumbai, they are the product of their own success. And this was Venky's point when we were discussing with him that you develop players and you get them to a point where they are critical to a franchise but then it's incredibly difficult to hold onto them. I am sure that Hardik Pandya would have been a top priority but they just couldn't fit him in."

If MI are unable to get Hardik Pandya back at the mega auction, it will end a seven-year-long partnership. In this time, the all-rounder's stocks rose from a mere ₹10 lakhs in 2015 to ₹11 crores as he scored 1476 runs (strike rate of 153.91) and picked 42 wickets (average of 31.26) from 92 matches.

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Daniel Vettori explains Mumbai Indians' decision of retaining Suryakumar Yadav over Ishan Kishan

Daniel Vettori also gave an explanation for MI choosing Suryakumar Yadav ahead of youngster Ishan Kishan in their retention. He said Yadav would have got a better number than ₹8 crores in the auction, but he might have been happy with taking less money to stay with a franchise he was "comfortable" at.

Daniel Vettori said:

"I really think that someone like Suryakumar Yadav, if he went into the auction then 8 crores would be the minimum for someone like him. But he may be one of those players who realizes his most successful season's been with Mumbai. He loves playing there, loves the franchise, loves Wankhade and all those factors may have been a factor for him to want to stay with the franchise."

He added:

"We can look at both ways that a player can eye up going somewhere else and see the benefits of trying something different but there's also a player who has enjoyed their time at a franchise... and then be prepared to take potentially less money than going into the auction and to a franchise they wouldn't feel so comfortable at."

The IPL 2022 auction is likely to be held in late December or early January 2022.