Hardik Pandya-CSK Trade: Mumbai Indians Demand Big Assets

Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni share an unbreakable bond | PC- AFP

The two five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), are currently negotiating what could be the mother of all trades, with Hardik Pandya as the centrepiece, if reports are to be believed.

Moments after the conclusion of IPL 2026, all teams went to the backroom and glued themselves to the drawing table to prepare for the next season of the lucrative league.

Allegedly, Mumbai’s leadership wasn’t happy with their captain Pandya, who is set to move away from the MI’s dressing room.

CSK offer Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis for MI's Hardik Pandya

Earlier, it was reported that all IPL franchises have shown interest in bagging Hardik Pandya's services from Mumbai Indians, apart from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. However, MI's biggest rival, Chennai Super Kings, seems to be the front-runner to the other party on the opposite end in the mother of all IPL trades. 

Also Read: India's Key To 2027 World Cup Lies In No Rohit And Kohli, But Hardik Pandya

According to the Times of India Tamil (Tamil Samayan), the two most successful franchises of the league have been negotiating for the MI skipper, with MS Dhoni also a part of the decision.

"It has been reported that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was also with the CSK team officials when the Mumbai Indians management was talking about the trading deal," the report stated. 

Reportedly, MI had asked for Ayush Mhatre and Shivam Dube for Hardik Pandya's move to CSK. However, Chennai refused Mhatre and offered Dewald Brevis on one condition. 

What's CSK's one condition in Dewald Brevis-Hardik Pandya swap?

As per the leading website, CSK are unsure about Dewald Brevis, after the South African had a below-par time in IPL 2026, racking just 151 runs in eight outings. Not just that, his number-scoring ability has dipped in last one year or so. 

Brevis has seen an evident dip in 2026, scoring just 228 runs in 11 T20I matches at a strike rate of 145.22. Notably, the swashbuckling batter struck at 176.42 in 2025, playing 17 innings. 

Brevis is undoubtedly one of the most hard-hitting batters of his generation, but Chennai will look at how he performs in The Hundred 2026, and based on his run in England, his future with CSK will be decided. It is worth mentioning that he is playing for MI London in the English league. 

If reports are to be believed, if the 23-year-old batter does well in The Hundred 2026, then CSK will offer Shivam Dube and INR 10 crore for Hardik Pandya. But if Brevis doesn't, then CSK would offer Dube and the Proteas for the Indian star all-rounder's trade. 

That said, MI could look to other franchises as well if they don't like the deal, with "KKR looking at the next stop". 

"It is said that if Brevis performs well, CSK has decided to send Shivam Dubey in place of Hardik Pandya and pay him Rs 10 crore," the TOI Tamil report added. "If Mumbai Indians do not like this deal, it is believed that there is a possibility of negotiating a deal with Kolkata Knight Riders next."

Who will win in the Hardik Pandya trade?

Hardik Pandya is certainly a once-in-a-generation player who can turn a game on its head with his exceptional skill set across all three departments. Three years ago, the 32-year-old was controversially traded to Mumbai from Gujarat, which didn’t sit well with some of the big names in the team. 

That said, Pandya may not move to Chennai as a captain, or if he does, the all-rounder shares an unbreakable bond with the legendary MS Dhoni. Thus, he would be a hit in the CSK camp, but they would lose two match-winners for one in this trade. 

That said, MI will get two quality middle-order batters to strengthen their batting order, which failed big time under pressure in IPL 2026. 

Also Read: Did Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Support Students Protests vs Indian Government?