Srikkanth also suggested the name of Chandrakant Pandit to replace Mahela Jayawardene as the new Mumbai Indians head coach
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File photos of Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Hardik Pandya(Photo: IANS)
Former ICC Cricket World Cup winner and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes that five-time Indian Premier League winner Chennai Super Kings should go all in to facilitate a trade move for current Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya in exchange for two CSK players ahead of the upcoming mini-auction for IPL 2027 in December.
Chennai are in the hunt for a senior figure in the team who can lead the side for the years to comeAfter the legendary MS Dhoni gave up on CSK captaincy permanently in 2024, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been leading the former IPL champions but things have not gone too well for them ever since.
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For the past three seasons, Chennai has been finishing at the bottom half of the table, failing to reach the qualifiers since landing their fifth IPL title under MS Dhoni back in 2023They also brought former Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper Sanju Samson to replace Dhoni but that hasn’t worked out either.
Samson was initially thought to be the one leading Chennai for the next five years or so but Gaikwad has been trusted with the role since Dhoni’s departureHowever, that could change in the upcoming 2027 season with CSK reportedly eyeing a massive trade move for Hardik Pandya.
The India all-rounder, who returned to the Mumbai Indians set up in 2024 after leading the Gujarat Titans to back-to-back finals in 2022 and 2023, hasn’t had the easiest of starts to life as MI captainOn his full-time captaincy debut two years ago, Pandya was subject to massive criticism for replacing Rohit Sharma and later finishing the season at the bottom.
In 2025, MI had a decent fourth-place finish and last season, they descended down at ninthDue to this reason, the five-time IPL champions are also reportedly wanting to get rid of Pandya and 1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels that it’s time CSK goes after the senior all-rounder.
While speaking on his latest YouTube video, Srikkanth highlighted the problems Hardik Pandya has been dealing with ever since taking charge of MI as they consistently struggled with team formation and performance.
Therefore, Srikkanth believes that it will be an ideal option to bring Pandya and get rid of Shivam Dube“It’ll be good for both Hardik and MIUnder him, they struggled with team formation and performanceHardik Pandya will be a great inclusion for CSK because the all-rounder slot will be sealed,” Srikkanth said.
Srikkanth also had harsh words for Shivam Dube, claiming that if he was a part of the CSK management, then he would have let go of Dube for free.
“Shivam Dube, I would even give for free if I were CSKI don’t even need a trade to give Dube upIf I were CSK, I would definitely put him back in the auction and get him again if needed,” Srikkanth added.
MI must bring in Chandrakant Pandit
Srikkanth then suggested Mumbai to bring in the highly experienced Chandrakant Pandit to replace Mahela Jayawardene as their next head coachThe 1983 World Cup winner feels that Pandit, given his local background, will be a great addition for MI.
“If I were MI, I would bring in Chandrakant Pandit as the coachHe’s a local boy and has played a lot for MumbaiSo he’ll be a great value addition for MI, and such a team needs a coach like Chandrakant PanditHe’s a good thinker of the game, and he’ll not throw his weight aroundHe will do his job quietly and go,” Srikkanth concluded.
When is IPL 2027 mini-auction?
The mini-auction for the IPL 2027 season is set to take place on Wednesday, October 16 at the ITC Grand hotel in Goa.
