‘Sabse badha paisa hai protocol gaya badh me’ – Fans react as Gujarat Titans COO points out ‘wrong approach’ in trading players by IPL franchises

The transfer of Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya to his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) shocked the cricketing world. The premier all-rounder was retained by the Ahmedabad-based franchise when the retention list was announced. However, the reports that emerged were true as a day later the captain of the 2022 IPL winning team was traded to five-time champions MI.

This is undoubtedly a huge setback for the two-time finalists Titans. Now in an interview with News18, GT’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Colonel Arvinder Singh has claimed that another franchise had approached their star pacer, Mohammed Shami. Arvinder expressed his disappointment over franchisees approaching players directly and suggested that teams should follow the protocols set by the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing body and the Indian Cricket Board.

“Every franchise has the right to go for top players. The wrong part is that if an IPL franchise directly approaches a player. The method is wrong and the GT team management is not happy with the approach. The Indian Cricket Board’s rule regarding player trade-odds, how the expression of interest can be made to the board and then they will inform us. Then the franchise decides,” the COO said.

“This IPL team approached our coaching staff which is wrong. If they wanted the transfer, they could have talked to us upfront. We got to know about the approach later on,” he added.

He is a very important part of our team: GT COO about Shami 

Mohammad Shami is currently a red-hot bowler and it is not surprising that the franchise approached him as claimed by the GT COO. The 33-year-old finished as the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded ODI World Cup. He was also the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2023 and helped Gujarat Titans reach the final for the second consecutive season.

“See, every team has the right to take good players to make their team stronger. Mohammed Shami has done well for us, won the purple cap holder last season, he performed well in the World Cup. He is a very important part of our team. The wrong thing is when some franchises directly approach players,” said Arvinder Singh.

Here’s how fans reacted to Gujarat Titans COO’s statement: