The Mumbai Indians have at least two feelers for a possible trade, one from Rajasthan Royals and the other from Shah Rukh Khan’s co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders. Hardik Pandya is on his way out of the five-time IPL champions.
An IPL insider with knowledge of the development, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the owners of the Mumbai Indians and the top management of KKR have had numerous conversations about a trade.
With just one playoff appearance under his captaincy, Pandya’s second stint with the Mumbai Indians has been turbulent.
“Ajinkya Rahane was always a stop-gap arrangement for KKR and he was always going to be released after this season. The KKR top brass had approached MI owners towards the end of last season but since Reliance’s Annual AGM was round the corner, so at that time IPL trade wasn’t the biggest priority. However, it has been learned that KKR has again approached MI top leadership and there has been a few rounds of discussion,” PTI quoted the source as saying.
The captaincy is undoubtedly up for grabs if Pandya joins KKR, either through a trade-off or an all-cash transaction, as Rinku Singh doesn’t currently seem like a good fit. When asked if MI wants a trade-off or an all-cash deal for the star Indian all-rounder, the source was unable to provide an answer.
The IPL transfer rule makes it very clear that a player cannot explore a trade with any other team on an individual basis.
Only franchise-to-franchise conversations are permitted, according to the rule, and a trade cannot take place without a player’s approval. The player must be returned to the auction pool if he does not consent.
The second offer that MI has received is reportedly a trade-off between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Pandya, but it is difficult to say with certainty whether negotiations have evolved to a more serious level.
It would be challenging for Pandya to obtain a leadership position, though, as the Royals are considering Assam star Riyan Parag as a long-term captain. Right now, KKR appears to be a much better alternative than Rajasthan Royals if Pandya’s trade goes through.
