The top personalities in the game are coming up to provide their opinions on the Hardik Pandya trade scandal, which has emerged as the IPL 2027 off-season’s central plot. Now, former India captain Kris Srikkanth has intervened, suggesting that the Kolkata Knight Riders give up two of their most valuable assets in order to acquire the captain of the Mumbai Indians.
Although he conceded that Harshit Rana is a competent bowler, he believed that his recent performance did not outweigh the chance to acquire Pandya. “Rinku Singh is a decent player, nothing extraordinary. Harshit Rana is a good bowler. But if Hardik is willing to join KKR, I would give up both of them.”
With Pandya firmly on the trading block, several teams have been connected to the all-rounder; however, since their skipper Ajinkya Rahane retired, KKR has become the clear front-runner. Pandya is a suitable leader for the Knight Riders. However, Srikkanth thinks that such a high-profile acquisition would not be inexpensive, and he has determined which two players KKR should be prepared to give up in order to acquire their man.
Srikkanth went into further detail about why KKR should think about the move from a squad-building standpoint. He pointed out that although Rana might be a big loss for the team, his previous play did not justify keeping him on board at the price of a big-name acquisition.
He further added, “They also have to rebuild their side. Rinku Singh won’t be a great loss for them. Harshit Rana might be a huge loss for them. But Harshit also didn’t have a great IPL last year. He was good only the year before that.”
Since rejoining the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 season, 32-year-old Hardik Pandya has not played well. In 2026, the Mumbai Indians placed ninth out of 10 teams. Pandya is a topic of conjecture in the IPL trade market since both the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders have expressed interest in signing him.
