Hardik Pandya is reportedly on his way out of Mumbai Indians (MI) and he could either be traded or released before the IPL 2027 mini-auction. Pandya-led MI have largely struggled in MI. The five-time IPL Champions have already appointed Kieron Pollard as their new head coach and they could also have a new captain in the next season. The IPL franchises have until the middle of November to unveil the list of retained and released players. Before the deadline, R Ashwin has shared his take on MI and predicted that they will trade Pandya. "It's almost certain that he (Hardik) won't be with MI unless they try to retain him at the last moment. But I do believe he'll be traded. MI might look for a leg-spinner in the trade, and there were even talks of MI targeting an Indian left-arm pacer from PBKS for Hardik," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. Ashwin has now retired from Indian cricket and he now works as a cricket expert. He is also active in overseas leagues and recently played in the inaugural season of the ETPL in Dublin. Hardik Pandya returned to MI before IPL 2024. Photo: AP Hardik Pandya made his return to IPL in the biggest-ever IPL trade in 2023. MI made the shocking call to sack Rohit Sharma as captain despite him being India's all-format leader. MI's performance went from bad to worse in Pandya's first season as captain and they finished last in the IPL 2024 points table. MI bounced back in IPL 2025 and crashed out after losing to Punjab Kings in the second qualifier. MI had a forgettable IPL 2026 season and they finished ninth in the points table. While Pandya has struggled as MI's captain, he enjoyed a purple patch as Gujarat Titans' (GT) captain. In 2022, Pandya-led GT made a memorable IPL debut and clinched the trophy. In 2023, GT lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final. Rishav Narang is an experienced writer with nine years of experience in sports journalism. He extensively writes on cricket and covers live matches, b... View More