Mumbai Indians have traded captain Hardik Pandya to Punjab Kings in a straight swap for pacer Arshdeep Singh ahead of IPL 2027, the IPL confirmed in a statement on Wednesday, 11 November.
The deal, one of the biggest player trades in IPL history, has been formally approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Pandya will join Punjab Kings at a fee of Rs 18 crore, up from his existing fee of Rs 16.35 crore. Arshdeep will move to Mumbai Indians at his existing fee of Rs 18 crore.
01. End of Hardik’s second Mumbai stint
The move ends Hardik’s second stint with Mumbai Indians. He began his IPL journey with the franchise in 2015, moved to Gujarat Titans in 2022, and returned to Mumbai in 2024 as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. He captained the five-time champions for the last three seasons.
It will be Hardik’s third franchise in the IPL, and he will now play under Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer. Across 162 IPL matches, Hardik has scored 2,955 runs at a strike rate of 146.28 and taken 82 wickets.
Arshdeep, meanwhile, brings an eight-season association with Punjab Kings to a close. The left-arm pacer was bought back by Punjab in the player auction for Rs 18 crore.
02. What happens next
The trade comes ahead of the IPL 2027 season, the 20th edition of the tournament. The BCCI has extended the player retention deadline to 17 November, giving franchises time to complete their deals. The mini-auction is scheduled to be held in Goa on 16 December.
The two franchises had earlier considered adding Punjab reserve wicketkeeper Vishnu Vinod to the deal, but that option was dropped, and the trade went through as a straight player-for-player swap.
