“Does he deserve to be an 18 crore player?” – Tom Moody questions Hardik Pandya’s retention value for MI ahead of IPL 2025 auction

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody has questioned Hardik Pandya’s retention value ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, which is likely to take place in November. Pandya was appointed as MI’s captain in the previous season of the IPL but he failed to lead from the front.

Pandya scored 216 runs in 13 innings at an average of 18 and picked 11 wickets at a high economy rate of 10.75. Moody wants Mumbai Indians to retain Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah in the 18-crore bracket but feels Pandya’s best value is at 14 crores.

The former SRH head coach questioned Pandya’s match-winning consistency and his fitness.

Tom Moody said while talking to ESPN Cricinfo, “The way that things panned out in the last edition of the IPL, he would be, I think, a little bit disillusioned with what happened over the last 6-12 months. I would have Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav in the 18-crore bracket, and Hardik at 14. Leaving is up to him or you can put it down to his performance, form and fitness. And when you dissect all of those areas with Hardik Pandya, does he deserve to be an 18 crore player? Is he worth?.”

“If you’ve got to be an 18 crore player, you’ve got to be a genuine match-winner and do it regularly. Hardik Pandya, through his trials and tribulations over the last edition of the IPL was struggling with both fitness and performance,” he added.

On the other hand, Moody also questioned Ishan Kishan’s consistency at the top of the order. The left-hander has scored 2644 runs in 105 IPL matches at an average of 28.43 and a strike rate of 135.87.

“I look at Ishan Kishan and I think ‘look he’s a terrific player and is exciting. But also runs very hot and cold. How many matches has he won out of his bat; that’s a question you’ve got to ask. If you’re paying him around 14 crore for retention, are you going to get the return from a performance point of view? They will have to make some hard decisions,” Moody said in the same interaction.