Star cricketer Hardik Pandya moved to Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2027 through a trade deal, with the franchise securing his services for INR 18 crore in his IPL salary for the upcoming season of the tournament. The move marked his third franchise in the tournament, having previously represented Mumbai Indians across multiple stints and Gujarat Titans for two seasons.

Hardik Pandya's IPL salary journey is one of the most striking progressions the tournament has witnessed. The all-rounder began his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2015 on a contract worth just INR 10 lakh and has since climbed to INR 18 crore per season after joining Punjab Kings via a trade deal ahead of IPL 2026, the highest annual IPL salary of his career to date.

How did Hardik Pandya's salary grow so sharply after 2017?

The Choryasi-born spent his first three IPL seasons at Mumbai Indians on a contract worth INR 10 lakh per season, covering 2015, 2016 and 2017. That figure reflected his standing as a young, unproven talent in the squad. The leap that followed was substantial: from IPL 2018 onwards, still at Mumbai, his annual salary rose to INR 11 crore, a figure that underlined how rapidly he had established himself as one of the most valuable all-rounders in the format.

He held that INR 11 crore figure across four consecutive seasons at Mumbai Indians, from 2018 through 2021. When Gujarat Titans picked him up ahead of IPL 2022, his salary moved to INR 15 crore per season, a figure he retained for both the 2022 and 2023 campaigns with the franchise. GT won the IPL title in their debut season of 2022, with Pandya contributing centrally throughout that campaign.

His return to MI for IPL 2024 came via a trade and kept his salary at INR 15 crore. The Mumbai-based franchise then retained him for IPL 2025 at INR 16.35 crore, reflecting the revised retention rules that applied ahead of that auction cycle.

Hardik Pandya Season-wise IPL salary breakdown

Why did Hardik Pandya move to Punjab Kings for IPL 2026?

The progression from INR 10 lakh in 2015 to INR 18 crore in 2026 represents a rise of more than 1,700 times his original contract value across eleven seasons. Each step in that trajectory, from the post-2017 leap at MI to the GT move and then the PBKS deal, corresponded with a shift in either his franchise situation or the prevailing auction and retention framework at the time.