IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians Rope In Shardul Thakur From LSG in Historic Trade; Rutherford Also Joins Squad

New Delhi (India) November 13: With the retention cutoff date before the IPL 2026 season not too far away, franchises looking to slot in some final pieces before training their sights on auction strategy in December. Mumbai Indians have completed a trade of their own, purchasing Shardul Thakur from Lucknow Super Giants for an all-cash deal. The Indian Premier League  (IPL) has also confirmed the development and with it, Thakur has become the first player in IPL history to have been traded three times.

Path Across Seven Franchises

Mumbai Indians is the 7th franchise for Shardul Thakur after Punjab Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants. He will also become part of an elite group of cricketers who have plied their trades for both MI and CSK in IPL career.

Thakur has featured in 105 IPL games for an average of 30.31 and economy rate of 9.4, picking up 107 wickets. He even has 42 innings to his name, where he scored 325 runs at an impressive strike rate of 139.48. His presence will definitely strengthen the Mumbai Indians' bowling department, while they will be looking at him to contribute with the bat too if required down in the order.

Thakur's Impressive Journey in 2025

Rising Pune Supergiant purchased him from Punjab Kings in 2017 and prior to the 2023 edition, Thakur was traded by Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders. Curiously, both of these trades were all-cash deals as well. Thakur went unsold in the 2025 mega auction.

It was after Mohsin Khan got injured and was eventually ruled out of IPL, that LSG signed him as a replacement. Thakur started the season on an explosive note, taking 6 wickets in his first 2 matches including a 4-fer but fizzled out after; he ended up with 13 wickets at an average of 11.02.

Rutherford Returns to Strengthen MI’s Batting Depth

Another big trade was completed by MI, bringing in West Indian batsman — Sherfane Rutherford to play for the franchise that he has been associated with earlier as well. Rutherford had a good season with Gujarat Titans scoring 291 runs at an impressive strike rate of 157. Rutherford would also be likely to slot in as a reserve batsman behind the foreign batting base of Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks.

High-Profile Swap on Horizon Between CSK and RR

It is not just the five-time champions who are planning to make some big decisions in ahead of the retention window, with a potential high-profile deal involving CSK and RR as Sanju Samson looks set to join the yellow brigade and Ravindra Jadeja moving in the reverse direction – returning to where he burst into prominence.