Ahmedabad franchise may approach Pandya brothers for IPL 2022 - Reports

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have reportedly made up their mind to release the Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - ahead of IPL Mega Auction 2022. According to reports, each existing franchise will have the permission to retain only a maximum of three Indian cricketers. 

The Mumbai-based franchise are looking to retain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah as their first two picks. The third Indian spot is up for grabs, with Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav being the leading contenders. 

According to a report by Cricbuzz, the Pandya brothers may be approached by the new Ahmedabad IPL franchise. Hardik and Krunal are two of the biggest match-winners in Indian cricket. Also, they hail from Gujarat. 

The rules of IPL Mega Auction 2022 reportedly allow the two new franchises to acquire three talents each prior to the auction’s commencement. Hence, Lucknow franchise are likely to sign KL Rahul and Ahmedabad may approach the Pandya brothers to fill up those spots. 

A look at the numbers of the Pandya brothers 

Both Hardik and Krunal Pandya have played for the Mumbai Indians only in their IPL careers. The Pandya brothers have decent numbers in the IPL. While Krunal has scored 1,143 runs in 84 matches at a strike rate of 138.54, Hardik has aggregated 1,476 runs in 92 matches at a strike rate of 150+. 

Krunal is a left-arm spin bowler, and so far in his IPL career, he has taken 51 wickets at an economy rate of 7.36. Meanwhile, Hardik has scalped 42 wickets at strike rate of close to 20. 

It will be exciting to see if the Ahmedabad franchise signs the Pandya brothers ahead of IPL Mega Auction 2022. It will be a great move by the franchise if they acquire the services of two of the best all-rounders in Indian cricket.