Gujarat Titans COO's explosive claim ahead of IPL 2024 auction, accuses franchise of malpractice

With the IPL 2024 auction looming, the talks and noise regarding the upcoming event are in full flow. Ahead of the auction, franchises were given a window to trade players among each other and were also asked to list players they would want to release. Hardik Pandya has turned out to be the huge marquee transfer of the season, and what comes out as a huge revelation, Pandya was not the only Gujarat Titans player, who was a target of another franchise.

3 things you need to know

• IPL 2024 auction to take place on December 19, 2023
• The event will be held in Dubai
• Hardik Pandya has been traded to Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction

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GT COO reveals a franchise tried to lure Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami has had a tremendous 2023. The pacer won the Purple Cap for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 and was also the highest wicket-taker in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Considering his top-notch form, he was bound to attract interest from other IPL teams and indeed he was contacted.

According to GT COO Colonel Arvinder Singh, a franchise approached Mohammed Shami via unfair means i.e., directly, and asked the player for a switch. While he did not name the entity, Singh made it known that he wasn't pleased with the conduct of the organisation that initiated interest.
"See, every team has the right to take good players to make their team stronger. Mohammed Shami has done well for us, won the purple cap holder last season, he performed well in the World Cup. He is a very important part of our team. The wrong thing is when some franchises directly approach players. The BCCI has made a procedure for trading. There is an expression of interest that goes to BCCI and it is subsequently shared to the concerned franchise, who can then take a call whether to go on with the trade or not," Singh said in a News 18 interview.

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IPL 2024 auction

A total of 1166 players have been registered for the IPL 2024 auction. Among them, big names like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, etc. are also there, and will go down the hammer on December 19, 2023. With the evolution of purchasing power, a new all-time bid record could be expected in the upcoming auction.