Explained: Why Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians Contract Can't Have a 'Captaincy Clause'

Hardik Pandya did his first media interaction as captain of the Mumbai Indians on Monday and the all-rounder spoke at length about returning to his old Indian Premier League (IPL) team, reunion with Rohit Sharma and the “freak” injury which kept him out of action for nearly five months.

While he answered all the questions fired towards him with a lot of patience and at ease, there was one query on his contract which was left unanswered by both Pandya and head coach Mark Boucher.

“Firstly, hearing rumours that there is a captaincy clause in your contract….,” a question was left unanswered as the member of the MI management asked the reporter to move to the next one.

Ever since he was traded from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal, there has been lot of chatter around Pandya’s new contract. There have been suggestions of a “captaincy clause” in his contract but it is understood that there is no provision to have one.

“IPL contracts are standard issued by BCCI. So contract can’t have any clause changed,” a well-placed source tells CricketNext.

Pandya currently has a one-year contract with the Mumbai Indians and will continue getting Rs 15 crore, the amount he was getting from Gujarat Titans when he joined them ahead of the 2022 edition, and agreed player percentage of the “negotiated increase” amount, if any.

What is “negotiated increase” amount?

When Pandya’s trade was completed, GT’s purse went up by Rs 15 crore and the same amount was deducted from MI’s purse. If the two franchises agreed to a transfer fees in excess of Rs 15 crore it becomes a “negotiated increase” amount.

Say if Pandya’s deal was locked at Rs 20 crore, GT can share up to 50% of the increase with the all-rounder but it will have no bearing on the purses of the two teams. The agreed player percentage of the negotiated increase, however, will be mentioned in Pandya’s new contract with MI.

This arrangement is only for one year as all teams will head into a mega auction before the 2025 edition of the cash-rich league gets underway.