Mumbai Indians have reportedly decided to release brothers Hardik and Krunal Pandya ahead of the IPL Mega Auction in 2022. Each existing franchise will be allowed to retain a maximum of three Indian cricketers.
Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to remain as the first two picks of Mumbai's franchise. Indians Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav are the leading contenders for the third spot.
The new Ahmedabad IPL franchise may approach the Pandya brothers. Indian cricket's two biggest match-winners are Hardik and Krunal. Both are from Gujarat.
IPL Mega Auction 2022 rules reportedly allow the two new franchises to acquire three talents each before the auction begins. Therefore, Lucknow is likely to sign KL Rahul, while Ahmedabad may approach the Pandya brothers.
Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya have both played for the Mumbai Indians only in the IPL. There have been some decent performances for the Pandya brothers in the IPL. Hardik has scored 1,476 runs in 92 matches at a strike rate of 150+, whereas Krunal has scored 1,143 runs at 138.54 in 84 matches.
So far in his IPL career, Krunal has taken 51 wickets at an economy rate of 7.36. Hardik has taken 42 wickets at a strike rate of close to 20.
It will be interesting to see if the Ahmedabad franchisee signs the Pandya brothers before the IPL Mega Auction in 2022. If the franchise is able to acquire the services of two of the best all-rounders in Indian cricket, it will be a great achievement.