As part of the trade deal, Hardik moved to PBKS while MI acquire Arshdeep Singh in exchange.
Hardik Pandya has officially joined Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the IPL 2027 season in a straight player swap with Arshdeep Singh, who moved to Mumbai Indians (MI).
Hours after the trade deal, Hardik shared his first reaction via social media. Taking to Instagram, the star all-rounder addressed the leadership setup at his new franchise, explicitly endorsing Shreyas Iyer as captain and Ricky Ponting as head coach while pledging his full support to the squad and fanbase.
Hardik began his message with "Sat Sri Akal, ਪੰਜਾਬ ♥️" before stating: "My Captain. Shreyas. My Coach. Ricky. My team. All of Punjab. I am standing behind you."
Having led MI from 2024 to 2026 and Gujarat Titans (GT) from 2022 to 2023, Hardik Pandya's immediate public backing of Iyer clarifies that he is stepping into PBKS as a senior all-rounder rather than vying for the captaincy.
The move reunites Pandya with Ponting, who served as the head coach of MI when the former made his IPL debut in 2015.
The BCCI on Wednesday (November 11) approved a direct player-for-player trade between MI and PBKS ahead of the IPL 2027 retention deadline.
Pandya was traded to Punjab for a fee of Rs 18 crore (up from his previous Rs 16.35 crore contract), while left-arm pacer Arshdeep head to MI at his existing Rs 18 crore fee.