Sourav Ganguly and Hardik Pandya - (Source: AFP/X)
In a significant development, Delhi Capitals have joined the race to sign Hardik Pandya from Mumbai Indians for IPL 2027. The Capitals have become the fourth team after Rajasthan Royals, KKR, and CSK to show interest for star India all-rounder.
It is true that Hardik Pandya is all set to leave the five-time winners and Delhi Capitals are quite serious to trade in the 32-year-old by offering two quality India players as part of the deal.
Delhi Capitals Ready To Trade Axar Patel And Prithvi Shaw
A report from Times Of India Tamil mentioned that Delhi Capitals are ready to offload their skipper Axar Patel and opener Prithvi Shaw to bring in Hardik Pandya to the team.
The offer meets the demands of both teams because Capitals require a quality all-rounder, while Mumbai Indians are hunting for a spin-bowling all-rounder. At present, the deal is in nascent stage and there is no advance stage.
Although, the latest report hints that Hardik Pandya's possible trade to Chennai Super Kings has been called off due to a deadlock.
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CSK-MI Trade Deal Likely Called Off
Chennai Super Kings were the favourite to sign Hardik Pandya and both the parties were in advance stages. However, now it seems that they have reached a deadlock, which led to the deal getting called off.
Mumbai Indians demanded Shivam Dube and Ayush Mhatre in exchange of Hardik Pandya. However, CSK rejected the idea of giving away the Under-19 World Cup winning captain. However, the two teams nearly agreed over Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis, but asked for additional 10 crores.
Chennai Super Kings didn't like the idea of of giving extra 10 crores but Mumbai Indians sticked to their demands. Hence, the deal might have been called off due to this reason.
Is Hardik Pandya-Delhi Capitals Trade A Reality?
Hardik Pandya is earning 16.35 crores at Mumbai Indians. The five-time winners will only offload the all-rounder if a franchise match that salary or trade a player matching the requirement of their team.
With Delhi Capitals, Axar Patel is earning 16.50 crores. Hence, there is no issue on the finance part and Mumbai Indians also require a spin-bowling all-rounder, a department which has looked weak ever since Krunal Pandya left the side.
Still, Mumbai Indians might demand a player other than Prithvi Shaw, because he has not played a single IPL match in the last two years. It is likely that MI ask for Axar Patel and someone like Sameer Rizvi, who proved his mettle in IPL 2026 by scoring 252 runs in 9 matches.
Therefore, Hardik Pandya's trade to Delhi Capitals is a reality because it matches Mumbai Indians' requirements and there should not be any problem financially to bring in Pandya for IPL 2027.
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