Former India opener Abhinav Mukund has shared his views on a possible Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya trade between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2027. He talked about who really benefits from this blockbuster trade—PBKS or MI?

India Today reported that the deal is almost finalized, and only the official announcement is left to make. Most of the people have written down the new playing XI of both teams after the completion of the deal to analyze which team has made a better bargain out of it.

Abhinav Mukund has put his two cents into the deal and thinks that MI would get the better end of the deal. Mukund has questioned how Hardik would fit into the PBKS setup and how his equation would 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. 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?” Mukund said on 'JioStar.'

"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 likewise believes that the Hardik decision will also cast doubt over the future of Suryansh Shedge, an all-rounder in whom PBKS had invested heavily.

"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 and 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.