Hardik Pandya has a new home in Punjab Kings after the franchise agreed a trade deal with the Mumbai Indians in exchange for Arshdeep Singh
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File photo of Hardik Pandya(Photo: IANS)
“Sat Sri Akal Punjab”, this is what Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya wrote on his latest social media post to confirm his trade move from Mumbai Indians to the Punjab KingsAfter securing multiple Indian Premier League titles with MI and Gujarat Titans, Pandya is ready for a new chapter in his IPL career.
Hardik Pandya was traded by Mumbai in exchange for Indian left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who will be gearing up for his first IPL season playing for a different franchiseArshdeep has spent his entire Premier League career with the Punjab Kings in 2019.
Both the players will earn INR 18 crores from their contracts and the trade is already being touted as perhaps the biggest that the IPL has ever seen.
Hardik Pandya’s post clarifies that he won’t captain Punjab
Hardik Pandya’s caption, on his latest Instagram post, gave Punjab fans much needed clarity about whether he will captain the franchise or notAfter greeting the fans with “Sat Sri Akal”, a traditional Punjabi greeting widely used by Sikhs, before name dropping Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting as his captain and coach.
Pandya concluded by saying that he is standing behind Punjab“Sat Sri Akal My CaptainShreyas, My CoachRickyMy teamAll of PunjabI am standing behind you,” Pandya wroteThe post has already generated over 2 million likes, with fans going berserk about his arrival.
Several Chennai Super Kings fans commented on the post with heartbreak emoji and GIFsBefore Hardik Pandya’s move to Punjab materialised, the all-rounder was being heavily linked with a move to CSK but those were eventually nothing but rumours.
Punjab hoping to land the elusive IPL title
Punjab will now be hoping that Hardik Pandya’s arrival will change the franchise’s fortunes by landing an elusive IPL titleThe two-time runners-up have all the elements to go on to win the Premier League.
Their core team is set and the players have become heavily experienced, having played the IPL final two seasons agoThey had a forgettable outing in the 2026 edition, finishing outside of the top four after a tough spell which saw them lose back-to-back six matches and fall out of contention for the play-offs.
Pandya’s addition will fill a huge gap in the middle-order and also provide depth in the bowling attackPandya has scored 2955 runs and scalped 82 wickets from 162 matches for the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians.
