IPL 2024 Auction: Gujarat Titans' pacer Mohammed Shami was wrongfully approached by a franchise, reveals COO

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Gujarat Titans have lost their captain Hardik Pandya ahead of the IPL 2024 as he decided to join Mumbai Indians.

Pandya, who led the Titans to a title in 2022 and then a final appearance this year, decided to return to his old franchise Mumbai Indians before the upcoming season of the IPL.

The Titans initially announced the retention of Hardik Pandya, then it was an all-cash trade for the Indian all-rounder to Mumbai Indians. It was not amicable at all as the move was alleged to be a murky one as the Titans were not that keen to let go of their captain.

But Hardik Pandya doesn't seem to be the only player who was wooed away from the Titans. According to the Gujarat Titans CEO Arvinder Singh, India pacer Mohammed Shami was also approached by a franchise.

He alleged that another franchise contacted Mohammed Shami directly for a transfer, which is against the BCCI and IPL protocols.

Speaking with News18, the GT CEO accused another franchise of doing business under unfair means. He said that Mohammed Shami's coaching staff were contacted by the franchise, when it should have been the Gujarat Titans team management.

"it's wrong to contact players directly for IPL trade. Teams should follow the protocols set by the IPL and BCCI," the Titans CEO said.

He also revealed there were talks with a possible trade of Shami, but the Titans' stance was rigid as they wanted to keep the Indian pace star at the franchise. The approach was also against the BCCI rules and the CEO said without mentioning any names that had the right channels been used, they would have talked with the interested franchise.