After CSK, now Delhi Capitals is also in the race for Hardik Pandya. Delhi is ready to trade Hardik in exchange for Axar Patel and Prithvi Shaw. Mumbai is considering Akshar as an alternative to Krunal Pandya, which could make this trade possible.
New Delhi: Now another team has joined the race to buy Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were already in talks about Hardik, but now Delhi Capitals has also entered the race. Ever since the poor performance of Mumbai Indians in the last season of IPL, speculations were rife that captain Hardik Pandya might leave the team. When Chennai started talks to buy Hardik, it seemed that this exchange was almost certain.
Delhi Capitals, trying to win its first IPL title, wants to strengthen its bench strength by bringing big players like Hardik into the team. Under this strategy, Delhi had recently included Rishabh Pant back in its team by giving Kuldeep Yadav to Lucknow Super Giants. Now the news is that Delhi is ready to give its captain Akshar Patel and opener Prithvi Shaw to Mumbai Indians in exchange of Hardik.
There will be no problem of money in this trade. Hardik’s salary in Mumbai is Rs 16.35 crore, while Akshar Patel’s salary in Delhi is Rs 16.50 crore. Therefore, this player trade can happen easily. Mumbai’s management believes that Akshar Patel can fill the void of spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya who left the team. However, there are also reports that Mumbai may demand young player Sameer Rizvi in place of Prithvi Shaw, as Prithvi is not able to make a consistent place in the team.
Earlier, Chennai had offered Dewald Brevis in exchange of Hardik. But Mumbai Indians demanded the trade amount along with Shivam Dubey and Ayush Badoni. Due to this reason, the talks between Mumbai and Chennai came to a halt midway and Delhi Capitals got a chance.