Former Indian all-rounder Ravi Ashwin expressed his views on the potential trade between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) involving Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh ahead of the IPL 2027 retention deadline.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin reckoned that PBKS would be considering getting an experienced finisher in Hardik after their all-rounder Marcus Stoinis couldn’t create an impact in the last season.
“We can say it is a body-to-body trade. I still feel that there will be more elements in this trade. We cannot be sure, as it is a big trade. What would Punjab have thought? They would have looked at the benefits of bringing in Hardik. Stoinis did not perform as expected. They needed an experienced finisher. They should have reached the final easily last year, but it did not happen because of the bleeding in their bowling. Maybe they thought it was difficult to get more out of Arshdeep, and that is why they looked at a three-dimensional player,” he said.
Speaking about their IPL 2026 performances, Hardik could score 206 runs and scalp four wickets in 10 matches. On the other hand, Arshdeep could pick up only 14 wickets in as many games.
In the IPL 2026 season, PBKS started pretty well, but their campaign derailed and took a complete U-turn, losing six games in a row and ending up finishing fifth on the table, missing out on the playoffs.
Mumbai Indians also endured a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign, finishing ninth in the standings with just four wins from 14 matches. They have now missed out on the playoffs twice in the three seasons since Hardik Pandya took over as captain.
