The trades were confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by a BCCI official, although the IPL and the franchises are yet to make it public.

While the Titans’ purse will increase by INR 15 crore, which was Hardik’s salary, they will also receive an additional transfer fee from Mumbai which they will have to disclose to IPL. Hardik will earn up to 50% of that transfer fee from the Titans as per the mutual agreement.

As per IPL rules, the player exchange window begins one month after a season ends, remains open until one week before the auction date and then continues until one month before the start of the next season. . The current trading window is therefore open until December 12, with the auction scheduled for December 19, and will open again on December 20 until one month before the 2024 season begins.

Mumbai had released 11 players before the retention deadline, releasing INR 15.25 crore in their auction pool. While that amount was enough to pay for Hardik’s trade (INR 15 crore), it would have left Mumbai with very little to spend on the auction. However, by exchanging Green for RCB in an all-cash deal, Mumbai added another INR 17.50 crore to its purse.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Mumbai had approached at least two franchises for a player swap ahead of the retention deadline, but the deals fell through.

When the Titans franchise, owned by global fund manager CVC Capital Partners, came into being in 2021, they were allowed to pick three players from the group released by other franchises ahead of the 2022 mega auction. The Titans signed Hardik and the Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan for INR 15 crore each, with Shubman Gill as his third pick for INR 7 crore.

However, it was in Mumbai that Hardik began his IPL career and became one of the best all-rounders in the game. Bought for INR 10 lakhs as an uncapped player in 2015, Hardik was part of Mumbai’s title-winning seasons in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Having been retained by them ahead of each auction until 2021, Hardik was eventually released before the Mega auction 2022, decision that surprised. Mumbai were allowed to retain only four players that year and opted to keep Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard, paving the way for the Titans to hire Hardik as their captain.