Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals lose steam on Hardik Pandya-Yashasvi Jaiswal trade

The much-discussed swap of Hardik Pandya and Yashasvi Jaiswal appears unlikely to materialise at this stage, with momentum draining out of the proposed deal between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

While the possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, Cricbuzz understands the proposed trade was not entirely baseless — the two franchises held discussions a few months ago. However, those talks did not make much headway, and the sides are currently not engaged in any such conversations.

Why the deal had merit

The trade made cricketing sense for Rajasthan because the Royals already possess another young left-handed opening option in Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who has been with the franchise for the last two seasons. The 20-year-old South African has been in excellent touch recently, scoring 465 runs in the latest edition of Major League Cricket (MLC) at a strike rate of over 176, including a century and four fifties. Pretorius finished third on the MLC batting charts, behind only Matthew Short and Andries Gous, though both of those batters posted lower strike rates than the Royals youngster, who helped the San Francisco Unicorns reach the playoffs.

Pretorius, widely regarded as one of the format's rising stars, has been among the more consistent T20 batters of late. He scored 226 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 179.37 in the T20I tri-series in Namibia, and carried his form into the ongoing SA20, where he smashed a blistering 188 not out off just 79 deliveries for the Titans against the Knights. His IPL opportunities, however, have been limited to just three games so far, two of them coming last season — meaning he could provide a ready-made back-up if the Jaiswal deal were ever revived, though there is no confirmation any move is being pursued.

Jaiswal tied down, Royals quiet

Yashasvi Jaiswal remains contractually bound to the Royals for at least one more season, and Royals officials did not respond to queries on the matter. Had talks progressed, the Royals would have been involved in trades involving key players in successive windows — former captain Sanju Samson was traded to Chennai Super Kings last year in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. At this stage, another such deal appears unlikely.

What comes next

Franchise-level discussions could gather pace in the coming weeks as the November 15 retention deadline approaches. It is learnt that Pitru Paksha, a period considered inauspicious for important decisions and observed by some franchise owners, ended earlier this week. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians sources have said that Rohit Sharma's reported return as captain has not come up for discussion so far. The franchise wants to finalise its coaching setup — including whether to bring in new coaches or retain the existing staff — before the captaincy question is addressed.