Former Indian opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has opened up on the trade deal between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) involving Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh ahead of the retention deadline.
Speaking on his Instagram handle, Ramesh asserted that he has always seen Hardik as an incredible cricketer, but a poor captain. He went on to add that it is a huge plus for PBKS to have Hardik only as a player, assuming he is fully fit.
Further, the former opener predicted Hardik, if fully fit, to score more than 300 runs and scalp at least 15 wickets in the forthcoming IPL 2027 season. Speaking about his IPL 2026 performances, Hardik could score 206 runs and scalp four wickets in 10 matches.
“It’s one of the best trade-offs because these are two outstanding cricketers. With Hardik, only fitness is an issue. If he’s fully fit, he’s extraordinary. I’ve always seen Hardik as an incredible player but a poor captain. So, considering he’s going to Punjab just as a player, it’s a huge plus for them, assuming he’s fully fit. But still, assuming both of them are at full fitness, I’ll still give PBKS the edge because a fully fit Hardik Pandya is a beast. PBKS can easily expect 300 runs and 15 wickets from him, now that he’s not the captain,” Ramesh said on his Instagram handle.
Further, Ramesh stated that this trade deal would be a great move for the ace all-rounder, thanks to Shreyas Iyer, who is currently leading the Indian T20I team, adding that Pandya would receive good enough backing in terms of national selection.
“This is also strategically a great move for Hardik. He has to get back to the Indian T20I team. And considering Shreyas Iyer is the T20I captain, he’ll aggressively back Hardik for Indian selection,” he added.
