Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) released Ishan Kishan, one of their best explosive batters ahead of the 2025 mega auction. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came on top during the bidding war to acquire the services of their wicketkeeper-batter for INR 11.25 crore. The former MI batter played some of the best innings during his tenure at Mumbai Indians since joining them in 2018. Also Read: Hardik Pandya's Heartfelt Thank You Message to His Childhood Selector Goes Viral Recently, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya revealed that they wanted to get Ishan back during the mega auction, but they already knew that it would be difficult. Addressing the situation, Hadik not only shared his bond with his former teammate but also mentioned the challenges one faces in retaining such a high-quality player. In a video released by MI, Hardik said: “Ishan has been the ‘freshness’ and the ‘energy’ of the room. When we couldn’t retain him, we always knew that it’s gonna be very difficult to get him back from the auction simply because we knew that, the kind of player and kind of skillset he brings. He always used to be keep the dressing room light, has made a lot of people smile.” He further added: “That love and warmth, it came very natural to him and there will be less cake smashing, less pranks happening on people. That was Ishan and who used to bring so much love to this team, that is something as a group we are going to miss. Ishan Kishan, you always be MI’s pocket dynamo. We all gonna miss you and we all love you.” Watch the clip here: π πβ΄ πΌππ½πΆπ #MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians | @ishankishan51 pic.twitter.com/K1Gz5DKYUU — Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 1, 2024 During the mega auction 2025, five times IPL champions, Mumbai Indians worked well on their key strategies and built a solid 23-member squad for the upcoming IPL 2025.