Former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody asked if Mumbai Indians needed to retain Hardik Pandya for an ₹18 crore price tag to make him their biggest buy. With the new rules in place, as many as six players each team would be allowed to retain, either directly or using Right to Match cards. The biggest amount of ₹18 crores has to be paid to the top player, followed by the next two at ₹14 crores and ₹11 crores, respectively. Two more players can be retained at ₹18 crores and ₹14 crores each. With several star players like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma to choose from, Moody was of the view that Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav should be retained at ₹18 crore, while Hardik at ₹14 crore. According to him, the player at that price has to be consistent and a match-winner who features regularly. Moody said: "The way that things panned out in the last edition of the IPL, he (Rohit Sharma) would be, I think, a little bit disillusioned with what happened over the last 6-12 months. I would have Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav at 18, 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. Tilak Varma absolutely." Also Read | IPL 2025 Retention: Parth Jindal Reveals DC’s Plan for Rishabh Pant Moody also pointed out the poor showings by MI in the recent auctions and particularly singled out Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer, who had not delivered based on what they had paid for in terms of profile and pricing. He added: "They've had a little bit of problem at the auction table last couple of years. They've gotten caught up in a way too loyal in some cases and tried to retain, or get players back into their squad, which has cost them dearly. Classic examples were Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer, both coming at a heavy price. "Did they get the return? 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." Hardik is already training ahead of the Bangladesh T20I series. He had a poor season for the Mumbai Indians as he scored 216 runs and took 11 wickets.