Hardik Pandya, the outgoing Mumbai Indians captain, has sort of turned into the most discussed name in the IPL trade market after reports said the five time champions might move on from him following a not-so-great IPL 2026 season. Around seven franchises have shown interest in bringing Pandya in. Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rajasthan Royals are reportedly in the mix, with the other sides quietly looking at alternatives too.

Still, only Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have stayed out so far. Even with Pandya’s status as one of India’s really valuable T20 players, both franchises appear to have solid reasons to not put him at the front of their minds ahead of IPL 2027.

RCB, fresh off two consecutive IPL titles, already got quite a few folks who can do the same kind of work as Pandya. Their squad is pretty balanced, so bringing him in maybe not even necessary. Pandya’s biggest edge is his bowling plus that lower middle order “closing” work, but RCB already have Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, and Jacob Bethell taking care of most of those jobs.

Sure, Pandya would make things better, but the issue is he mostly overlaps with what they’ve got, instead of actually filling a missing piece. Krunal Pandya’s role itself helps a lot too bat, ball, even leadership vibes so another big name all-rounder feels less essential. Also, talk about a rift between the brothers could get messy, and that kind of thing can disturb team harmony, pretty fast.

Then look at RCB’s batting core Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Tim David and Jitesh Sharma. That mix feels more or less settled. Since Pandya normally slots around No. 5 to No. 7, he’d end up competing with players who are kinda locked into those spots already. And if Mumbai Indians are going to ask for heavy compensation, RCB might rather spend that money on shoring up their bowling, instead of chasing another all-round option.

Successful teams tend to steer clear of costly signings unless it actually untangles a specific issue, and Pandya might not be that missing piece for Bengaluru. He has captaincy experience, so there is some extra value there, but RCB already have Rajat Patidar running things, so the leadership picture stays stable.

With SRH, the logic feels a bit more straightforward. Nitish Kumar Reddy has come through as one of India’s most fun young all-rounders, kind of like that middle-order spark, with pace bowling too, plus the longer runway of potential. SRH have already put serious focus into his growth, and they may not want to slow that momentum by bringing in Pandya.

Even if Pandya is arguably ahead right now, franchises rarely open the wallet big, when they’ve got a younger alternative developing in the same sort of job role. Also, the captaincy upside doesn’t really carry over to SRH, because Pat Cummins is still the main leader after pushing them to an IPL final and reworking the team culture. Ishan Kishan further gives leadership depth as well.

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SRH’s batting unit: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Heinrich Klaasen. Already feels like one of the stronger set ups in the league. Adding Pandya seems more like a luxury, not something absolutely required. Also, rather than chasing yet another batting all-rounder type, the smarter move might be to shore up their bowling attack, that could give more value overall.

There’s also the long-term chessboard. SRH can effectively build around Nitish Kumar Reddy for, say, the next five to seven years, so a flashy, blockbuster kind of move for Pandya might look less tempting.

And then comes the money side. RCB closed the auction with only ₹0.25 crore left, whereas SRH still had ₹5.45 crore. If SRH decides to trade for Pandya, the bill will likely be steep, and both teams may think the price  doesn’t quite match the disruption it could cause in squads that are already fairly well balanced.