Hardik Pandya likely to play for KKR in IPL 2027

Over the past few weeks, various reports have surfaced regarding star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's future in the IPL. According to the latest reports, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have currently taken the lead in the race to acquire Hardik Pandya and have even offered him the team's captaincy.

Earlier, reports suggested that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were closest to securing a trade for Hardik Pandya from Mumbai Indians (MI), with speculation that CSK would swap Shivam Dube and Ayush Mhatre for him. CSK had even proposed a deal to Mumbai Indians involving Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, and ₹10 crore, but Mumbai Indians ultimately rejected the offer.

Reports indicate that MI has demanded Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh or Ramandeep Singh from KKR in exchange for Hardik. It remains to be seen whether KKR will accept this deal. Reports also claim that the three-time champions are reluctant to part with their key players, and if they refuse, the deal could fall through. Meanwhile, CSK is currently searching for a new coach and will only make a final decision regarding Hardik after that process is complete.

Apart from Hardik, KKR is also actively pursuing KL Rahul. KL Rahul is currently a part of Delhi Capitals. Reports suggest that DC might hand over the captaincy to KL Rahul in the upcoming season. Delhi Capitals also proposed a deal to MI involving Axar Patel, but nothing has been confirmed regarding the trade so far. The IPL 2027 mini auction is reportedly set for November- December 2026. 

Hardik Pandya started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2016. However, when the IPL expanded from 8 to 10 teams, Hardik joined the Gujarat Titans as captain. Under his captaincy, GT won the IPL 2022 & became runners-up in 2023. Following this, the MI franchise once again acquired his services and made him captain. However, Hardik Pandya’s captaincy tenure with MI was not so good. The team’s best performance came in 2025, when the team reached till the qualifier 2 under Hardik’s leadership. While MI finished at the bottom of the table in the remaining two seasons.