Mumbai Indians have traded their captain Hardik Pandya to Punjab Kings in exchange for India left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, in one of the biggest player trades in IPL history. The IPL confirmed the straight swap in a statement on Wednesday, Sportstar reported.
Hardik's fee has been revised to ₹18 crore from ₹16.35 crore, while Arshdeep, whom Punjab bought back at the player auction for ₹18 crore, moves at that price. With the values matched, the teams dropped the option of adding Punjab's reserve wicketkeeper Vishnu Vinod to the deal, according to Sportstar.
What Mumbai get
Arshdeep fills a long-standing gap for an established Indian left-arm fast bowler, Sportstar noted, and gives Mumbai a new-ball and death-overs option alongside Jasprit Bumrah. He is Punjab's highest wicket-taker in the IPL, with 111 wickets from 96 matches since his 2019 debut, and India's leading wicket-taker in T20 Internationals.
What Punjab get
Hardik brings middle-order batting, seam bowling and a record of leading two different franchises to IPL finals. In 162 IPL matches he has scored 2,955 runs at a strike rate of 146.28 and taken 82 wickets, NewsDrum reported.
End of an era at Mumbai
Hardik first joined Mumbai in 2015 and won four titles with them, in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. He moved to Gujarat Titans in 2022, won the title in their first season and reached another final in 2023, before returning to Mumbai as captain in 2024.
That second spell was difficult. His appointment in place of five-time title-winning captain Rohit Sharma drew criticism from fans, and Mumbai finished bottom in 2024, reached the playoffs in 2025 and came ninth in 2026 with four wins from 14 league games, NewsDrum reported.
What next
Mumbai will need a new captain for 2027. More moves could come before the trading window closes on November 17, ahead of the player auction.
