Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cricketer Manvinder Bisla has asserted that the Mumbai Indians (MI) veteran all-rounder Hardik Pandya would be a perfect choice for the Kolkata-based franchise for the forthcoming IPL 2027 season.
Speaking exclusively on The Bally Baazi YouTube podcast, Bisla reckoned that the KKR set-up needs a strong leader to guide the team in the upcoming edition, adding that Hardik would be a perfect choice for the role.
“100% (On Kolkata being the best-suited team for Hardik). There’s no doubt about it. Kolkata is one team where there is a search for a leader, where he can excel and get the freedom he needs. Because, look, I feel KKR would suit Hardik really well. He will get freedom, he will get leadership, and whatever Hardik needs at this point in time, he will get all of it at KKR,” Manvinder Bisla said on The Bally Baazi YouTube podcast.
Hardik’s IPL captaincy journey began with the Gujarat Titans, leading the franchise to the 2022 title victory and the 2023 final. However, he couldn’t replicate the same success with the MI franchise after re-joining the team in 2024.
“He might also have leadership on his mind, thinking, ‘I need to show somewhere that I am a very good leader.’ Because if you look at his time leading GT, the team became champions and also reached another final. So I don’t think you can have too many doubts about his captaincy. Obviously, his two or three years with MI haven’t been that great because, as you can see, there are a lot of leaders in that team, and managing so many leaders can sometimes be very difficult for teams,” he added.
Additionally, Bisla has emphasised that if the trade goes through, it would become the biggest trade in IPL history. However, he added that MI would likely ask for one of two in-form players from the KKR set-up in exchange for the star player.
“But the question is, what does Mumbai Indians want from KKR? Because Mumbai Indians will also feel that if a player like Hardik is leaving them, they should at least get one or two players in return who can fit into their playing XI. That’s why getting this deal done would be very difficult. But if Kolkata manage to bring Hardik into their team, I’ve never seen a bigger trade than this in my life,” he concluded.
At the end of the IPL 2026 league phase, KKR finished 7th with 13 points (6 wins, 7 losses, 1 no-result), while MI ended ninth with 8 points (4 wins, 10 losses).
