Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opening batter Manvinder Bisla has stated that the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya would be a perfect choice for the Kolkata-based franchise in the IPL 2027 season.
Speaking exclusively on The Bally Baazi YouTube podcast, Bisla has noted that KKR is in search of a captain after Ajinkya Rahane bid adieu to all formats of the game, adding that Hardik would be an ideal choice to fill that void at this moment.
“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 started off with the Gujarat Titans, winning the 2022 title and reaching the 2023 final. However, he couldn’t replicate the same success with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in his three-year journey.
“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.
Furthermore, Bisla has reckoned that if this trade finds success, it would emerge as the biggest trade in IPL history. However, he added that MI would be requesting one of two in-form players from the KKR set-up for trading the veteran all-rounder.
“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.
