Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has responded to the rumours around Mumbai Indians (MI) trading Hardik Pandya to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). With Ajinkya Rahane retiring from all forms of cricket, KKR in need of a captain. Pandya may fit well into their plans. While the like-for-like trade is Cameron Green, Ashwin has offered an alternate plan to MI. He wants the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions to only accept the trade if KKR give them their vice-captain Rinku Singh and pacer Harshit Rana.
“Don’t count out Hardik going to a franchise other than CSK or KKR. The talk is that CSK will give Dube and a pacer, while KKR will give away Cameron Green. What happens if Green decides to focus on the Ashes next year? If I were MI, I would accept a deal with KKR on only one condition: getting Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh in return. That is the only way MI gets stronger,” Ashwin said on his Tamil YouTube channel.
How the trade makes sense for both teams?
KKR acquired Green's services for Rs 25.20 crore in the mini-auction. However, the Australian all-rounder's salary from the entire IPL was capped at Rs 18 crore as per the rules placed for players missing mega auctions. KKR had retained Rinku and Rana for Rs 13 crore and Rs 4 crore respectively. Meanwhile, MI had retained Pandya for Rs 16.35 crore. As far as the trade is concerned, MI will have to play KKR some change if they get the Indian duo for the all-rounder.
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The only concern about this trade is Rana’s fitness. The young pacer was ruled out of previous edition of the IPL due to an injury. He made his comeback in the ODI series against Afghanistan, got injured during the T20I series and was ruled out of the ODIs followed by the tour of Zimbabwe. He was unavailable for selection for the Test series against Sri Lanka as well, even after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out.
When will Pandya be back in action?
Pandya has been out of action since the IPL 2026. He was declared fit and then another injury ruled him out of ODIs against Afghanistan, the UK tour, Zimbabwe tour. He hasn't been picked for the Japan Asian Games 2026 squad either. He is expected to return for the limited-overs series at home against West Indies. However, if the T20Is against Afghanistan or Bangladesh are scheduled, he can return early as well.