With Hardik Pandya in the squad as batting all-rounder, MI were locked in an intense battle with CSK for Australian bowling all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile, and they finally bagged him for Rs 8 crore
In case, Hardik can't make it, selectors might either look at hitting prowess of Suryakumar Yadav since the ODIs in the Kiwiland will be an extension of T20s in World Cup year.
Pandya, along with teammate K L Rahul, drew a lot of flak after their loose talk on women on 'Koffee with Karan' went viral, prompting the BCCI to suspend them
Business Standard lists the five controversies in world cricket that drew a lot of attention during 2019
Among the 12 released players are Evin Lewis, Jason Behrendoff and Alzarri Joseph, who had made some match-winning contributions to the side last season
Hardik last played for India during the T20 series against South Africa cricket team at home in September and underwent a back surgery in October
Indian players like Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Hardik Pandya, they all follow football and they do watch all these footballers, their hairstyle and what they do with their hairstyle, says Rohit Sharma
It is either caused by a faulty action or trying for extra pace. I hope I am wrong, but a stressed back can make the return to top pace a long, arduous one, says Mohinder Amarnath
Hardik Pandya has been out of the team for more than a month because of a back injury that needed surgery in England
Hardik is likely to be out of action for a minimum period of 12-16 weeks (3-4 months) and is expected to be match-fit before the Indian Premier League
Dhoni, who had taken a two-month sabbatical from the sport, is currently vacationing in the United States, having served the Territorial Army for 15 days
Pandya averages 30.53 in 47 ODIs with the bat while his bowling average of 41.97 in ODIs is on the higher side with 44 wickets to his name
The all-rounder has emerged as one of the biggest players in India's quest to win their third World Cup
According to Sehwag, Hardik is one that has become irreplaceable in recent times
Shrugging the off-field controversies, Hardik was in his element scoring 402 runs at a strike-rate of 191 plus and 14 wickets apart from 11 catches
He directed players to play a fine of Rs 20 lakh each that included a payment of Rs 1 lakh each to "each of the most deserving widows of ten constables in para-military forces
RCB and India captain Virat Kohli defended the move to use left-arm spinner Pawan Negi in the 19th over from which Hardik smashed 22 runs to end the match
Insisting his troublesome back was holding up well, Hardik was happy to be striking the ball well after his return to cricket through the IPL
The India all-rounder got embroiled in a controversy after his outrage-evoking comments on women in a chat show earlier this year. But he has overcome that now
India became the first team to score 400-plus in three successive Tests of a series on Lankan soil