He had scalped 13 wickets in 10 matches of the IPL 2025.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder, Shardul Thakur, has been traded to the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), before the IPL 2026 retention deadline. The veteran Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player, Ravichandran Ashwin, has confirmed the move on his YouTube channel.
The CSK great Ravichandran Ashwin, who previously announced his retirement from the cash-rich league, has revealed the deal involving Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy 2025-26 skipper. While discussing the Mumbai Indians 2026 auction strategy, he emphasised that the franchise would look to rope in a backup for Deepak Chahar.
“I don’t see any releases happening from MI. The most important factor for them would be Deepak Chahar, who is a bit injury-prone. Will they find a replacement for him?” noted the all-rounder.
However, Shardul’s inclusion would help strengthen MI’s pace attack in the IPL 2026. He might be seen to take up the new ball in the forthcoming season and could also contribute with the willow in the lower order.
After a Qualifier 2 finish in the IPL 2025, the Mumbai outfit does not have much to chop and change in the squad. They would mostly continue with their core and hope to cross the final two hurdles this time to clinch a record sixth title in the tournament.
“They have secured Shardul Thakur on a trade from LSG. That has happened. They will probably look for a spinner and could also manage that with a low purse in the auction,” he stressed.
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Previously, the 34-year-old had endured a sub-par season after going unsold in the IPL 2025 auction. The INR 2 crore recruit had joined the LSG camp as an injury replacement for Mohsin Khan. Though Shardul snared 13 wickets in 10 fixtures, he conceded runs at an expensive economy of 11.02.
His contribution with the other skill was also limited. Despite striking at a fiery rate of 150, the all-rounder could manage to add only 18 runs to the team’s tally throughout the season. However, the Mumbai player would hope to better his stats in the upcoming edition for his new franchise.
Notably, the IPL 2026 will be his fifth consecutive appearance for different teams since 2022. Moreover, MI marks the seventh franchise that Shardul has represented in his decade-long IPL career so far.
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