Former India opener Aakash Chopra has claimed that the Mumbai Indians (MI) will manage well without Hardik Pandya if his reported blockbuster trade to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) goes through ahead of the IPL 2027 season.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra explained why MI's squad depth would offset the loss of their captain and star all-rounder.
Chopra noted that the five-time champions already have an explosive batting core featuring Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton or Quinton de Kock, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Sherfane Rutherford, and Naman Dhir.
He believes Pandya's departure would allow MI to easily fit England all-rounder Will Jacks into their playing XI.
"Will they miss Hardik? Kill me for saying this, they won't miss him as much. You know how much I like Hardik Pandya, but the truth is that they will manage. If you see their batting, Rohit Sharma comes with either Ryan Rickelton or Quinton de Kock. Then you have Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Sherfane Rutherford to bat in the middle, and Naman Dhir. You have depth and quality in batting. You can now play Will Jacks easily," Chopra said.
With PBKS reportedly trading left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (alongside wicketkeeper Vishnu Vinod) in exchange for Pandya, Chopra highlighted how formidable a pace pairing of Arshdeep and Jasprit Bumrah would be for Mumbai.
“The Punjab team has made up its mind to let Arshdeep Singh go. Then Arshdeep and Jasprit Bumrah playing for the Mumbai Indians, and either Deepak Chahar or Corbin Bosch with them, and then they have Mitchell Santner and Allah Ghazanfar in spin bowling. It’s a serious attack,” he added.
With the fast-approaching IPL 2027 retention deadline on November 17, Aakash Chopra also named the players MI should retain heading into the mini-auction next month.
In a video posted by Star Sports, he tipped Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Sherfane Rutherford, Quinton de Kock, Corbin Bosch, Will Jacks, Shardul Thakur, Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar and Deepak Chahar as favorites to be retained by the Mumbai-based franchise.
Meanwhile, Chopra suggested MI to release former New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, who had a below-par 2026 season.
"Five matches, two wickets, 11 and a half runs per over. That tells me that Trent Boult has to be released. 12.5 crore is a lot of money, and in exchange, you can get quite a few players, and many people won't even need to be released," he stated.
Chopra also called for the release of either Keshav Maharaj or Mitchell Santner, as both of them operate as left-arm finger spinners.
"I can let go of Keshav Maharaj as well because they wouldn't want both Santner and Keshav. But, again, let's see if Hardik goes; who comes in his place," he remarked.
