Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath reckons Chennai Super Kings should target seam-bowling all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes in the off-season ahead of IPL 2027. It has been reported that Mumbai Indians want to trade out their skipper, Hardik Pandya, ahead of IPL 2027 auction.

Meanwhile, England’s Ben Stokes recently announced his International retirement and he should be available to play in the IPL. Stokes played for the Chennai Super Kings during the 2023 season after being acquired for a whopping amount of ₹16.25 crore in the auction. However, his stint was heavily limited by knee injuries, and he opted out of the subsequent seasons to manage his fitness and workload.

Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “MI won’t give away Hardik Pandya for nothing. They’ll want at least two players in return. CSK should trade Shivam Dube for Hardik as an all-rounder swap. It’ll be a dream situation for CSK if they can land Hardik and get Ben Stokes. CSK will be in the discussions for Hardik but they probably just don’t want to reveal it for now.”

The former CSK batter reckons KKR could be an ideal team for Hardik Pandya.

He added, “It looks like all teams except RCB and SRH are interested in Hardik Pandya. There’s no smoke without fire. So these reports suggest that the Mumbai Indians are ready to trade him. Being a high-quality all-rounder, the ideal team for Hardik Pandya will be KKR. They need an all-rounder, a captain and a senior player, making him the ideal fit there.”

CSK ended IPL 2026 in eighth place after six wins and eight losses in 14 league stage matches, and they would aim to bounce back stronger in the next season.