Hardik Pandya-Arshdeep Singh swap great for MI, questionable for PBKS: Ex-IND batter

Which team actually benefits from the Hardik Pandya-Arshdeep Singh swap deal? This question has been on fans’ and pundits’ minds ever since news broke that Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are working on one of the biggest trades in recent IPL memory.

India Today learnt that the deal is close to completion, and only official confirmation remains. Many have already written down the new playing XIs for both MI and PBKS once the deal is done to see which team has gotten the better end of the deal. Abhinav Mukund is now weighing in on the matter and feels that MI will benefit more from the deal.

Speaking to JioStar, the former India batter wonders how Hardik will fit in within the PBKS squad and how his equation will be playing under Shreyas Iyer.

“When you look back at the mega auction, they (Punjab Kings) chose to spend a bulk of their money on three big players like Arshdeep, Shreyas (Iyer) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal. If you don’t have faith in that core and want a better core to be retained, that’s where the all-rounder question comes in,” Mukund told ‘JioStar’.

“It’s a great deal for Mumbai, but it’s also a questionable deal for Punjab Kings because if Hardik comes to Punjab, does he play as just an all-rounder?” he asked.

“He would play under Shreyas Iyer. So, there is that team dynamics question as well. Once again, is he okay with it? Has Shreyas had conversations about it? These are all things done behind closed doors,” he added.

Mukund also feels that the Hardik move will also create uncertainity around the future of Suryansh Shedge, an all-rounder PBKS had heavily invested in.

“I’m very curious to see how Suryansh would react. This is a guy who’s now playing for India A as an all-rounder, playing for India as an all-rounder, and is looked at as the next in line after maybe Nitish Reddy, Shivam Dube and then him.

“So, clearly, he must be thinking about whether he would get as many opportunities if that trade does happen,” he said.

For MI, the deal will allow them to form a strong new ball attack of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep if the move does happen and end the Hardik experiment.

– Ends