In a very interesting move that seems on the cards, Rohit Sharma is in line to potentially become the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain for IPL 2027, while Hardik Pandya continues to attract approaches from other franchises in the trade window.
In a blockbuster inside story revealed by veteran journalist Rahul Rawat of Sports Tak, the MI think-tank is pondering strongly over reinstating Rohit as the MI skipper for the next IPL season.
A decision on this could be announced ahead of the IPL 2027 auction, which is slated for mid-December.
Rohit Sharma is likely to become Mumbai Indians captain; Hardik Pandya could be traded away
The trade window had opened up after the IPL 2026 season concluded. Already one mega-trade has taken place: Rishabh Pant moved back to Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants gained the services of Kuldeep Yadav from DC.
However, even bigger changes could come from the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians, as not only Rohit could be back as the skipper, but MI’s current captain, Pandya, could be on his way out to a new franchise.
The MI ownership and management have been left desperate for success: MI have not reached an IPL final since 2020, when they became the first team to win five IPL trophies.
In the last six seasons, Chennai Super Kings won two titles and matched MI with five championships, while newcomers Gujarat Titans have won one IPL title and reached the final twice. IPL’s perennial and lampooned chokers, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, having not won a single IPL trophy in 17 seasons, have gone back-to-back and clinched two IPL titles in 2025 and 2026.
The Ambani-owned MI is now interested in getting Rohit to lead the side for one more season, as IPL 2027 could probably be the last for Rohit, who may be targeting the 2027 World Cup as his swansong. Further, the auction after IPL 2027 will be a mega-auction.
The report in India Today says, “India Today has learnt that Mumbai could turn to Rohit again, putting the spotlight on Hardik Pandya’s future and the franchise’s plans for its next captain.”
Cricbuzz says that Hardik is “attracting renewed interest from IPL franchises, with at least one team understood to have made fresh inquiries about the all-rounder.” The all-rounder’s status remains uncertain with the deadline for announcing retentions now only about six weeks away.
Cricbuzz added, “There have been inquiries and approaches for Pandya to the Mumbai Indians management from multiple teams, with one particular franchise understood to have shown greater interest.”
In three seasons under Hardik, MI finished 10th and 9th in 2024 and 2026, respectively. They reached the playoffs in IPL 2025 where they were knocked by Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans, Hardik’s former franchise.
Pandya is no more part of the leadership plans of the BCCI and Indian team selectors, given his fitness issues and glass body. He has been out of action since the IPL 2026 ended. Teams like KKR and LSG are on the hunt for a new captain, so Pandya may be seen playing for a new franchise next year.
Further, MI also have the options of Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to the T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year and has a solid record as India’s T20I captain, and Tilak Varma, who is touted to be the future captain across levels; Varma is the vice-captain of the Indian T20I team.
However, MI are not keen on these two: SKY has been out of form and is dropped from the T20I team, while Varma is inexperienced.
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