The Mumbai Indians’ captaincy under Hardik Pandya has not been particularly successful. In Hardik Pandya’s IPL 2024 captaincy debut, MI placed tenth. MI had a stronger IPL 2025 because Hardik guided them to the playoffs.
However, things worsened in IPL 2026, when MI finished in ninth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs due to an all-around subpar performance. Hardik Pandya’s departure from MI has been essentially confirmed. Today, we examine three teams that ought to sign Hardik Pandya.
Here are the 3 Franchises that should sign Hardik Pandya for IPL 2027:
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
One of the few teams searching for a captain in the IPL 2027 auction will be the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Although Ajinkya Rahane was their last resort choice in the IPL 2026 recent auction, and led the side decently, keeping them alive in playoffs race till the last.
KKR will require a capable leader with a track record of accomplishment and for a longer period. Therefore, who is superior to Hardik Pandya, who has excelled as captain and won one IPL title? He also solves a lot of KKR’s combination problems because he is an all-rounder.
2. Lucknow Super Giants
It turned out that Rishabh Pant was not the captain that Lucknow Super Giants wanted him to be. Pant failed to motivate the team with his leadership, even though he was paid INR 27 crores each for two seasons. As a captain, Pant frequently lacked inspiration and followed the flow rather than coming up with original ideas to get things done.
LSG can now concentrate on bringing in an experienced player to lead the team after trading Rishabh Pant back to the Delhi Capitals. With his track record as a captain and his versatility, Hardik Pandya could be the answer to all of LSG’s issues.
1. Delhi Capitals
Despite having KL Rahul on the team, the Delhi Capitals (DC) had trusted Axar Patel with captaincy for two IPL seasons. DC, however, did not make it to the playoffs in IPL 2025 and IPL 2026, where they tapered off after a good start. Axar proved to be a very reactive captain who lacked originality and creativity. His own performances with the ball and bat were affected as well.
Given that Hardik Pandya is a highly inventive and proactive captain, DC may be interested in him in IPL 2027. His all-around abilities are also very valuable, and DC will only gain from having another all-rounder in the starting lineup, giving them freedom to tweak their lineup further.
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