3 reasons why MI trading in Shardul Thakur from LSG ahead of IPL 2026 would be the wrong move

Experienced Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur has become a subject of a potential trade deal involving the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the dying stages of the trading window. The 34-year-old is reportedly set for a switch ahead of the retention deadline set for Saturday, November 15. The player is currently leading Mumbai in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign after being dropped from the Indian Test squad post the England tour. Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin broke the news while discussing MI’s potential releases ahead of the auction. “I don’t see MI releasing any player. Their only question would be around Deepak Chahar, who is a bit injury-prone. They have secured Shardul Thakur on a trade with LSG, that is done,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why MI trading in Shardul Thakur from LSG ahead of IPL 2026 would be the wrong move. #1 Shardul Thakur has been off course in T20s for a while now Since his release from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after the triumphant 2021 campaign, Shardul Thakur has not lasted more than a single season with any franchise. His big money stints with both the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were uneventful, leading to his subsequent. The same story followed with his return to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as well in 2024. He was alarmingly unwanted by any franchise during the mega auction, and was a last-minute replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). It shows a lot as to how his graph has fallen with each subsequent year. Even his IPL 2025 campaign was nothing noteworthy as he ended with 13 wickets in 10 matches with an economy rate of 11. 02. There was a spark for him in T20s during the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, where he was the fourth-leading taker. However, even at his best, his economy read a 10. 51. As a result, with barely any positives apart from his familiarity with MI’s home venue, experience, and an erratic wicket-taking ability, a version of Shardul Thakur’s whose peak has already transpired, does not exactly come across as a shrewd MI signing. #2 MI already have several pace bowling all-rounder options in their side Almost all of the recent trades involving Shardul Thakur made sense to a certain extent since those franchises did not have the luxury of a pace bowling all-rounder, especially an Indian one, for the sake of balance and depth. However, for MI, who already have the No. 1-ranked T20 all-rounder in the world in Hardik Pandya, a reliable overseas pace bowling all-rounder in Corbin Bosch, and an emerging candidate in Raj Angad Bawa, this pursuit of Shardul Thakur makes very little sense. Even if MI considers him primarily as a bowling option, since he has batted only eight times across the last two seasons, the franchise have more than enough bowling depth to cover for Deepak Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah’s injury concerns. Emerging pacers like Ashwani Kumar and Satyanarayana Raju are more than enough cover for a short-term basis. #3 Auction pool might have been a better avenue for MI to build back up Even if MI are unsatisfied with the options they have in terms of depth or back-up, they always had the mini auction to bring in names instead of using the trade window. The player pool includes a vast variety of players of all kinds, traits, and age, and MI could have assessed those options, especially since it will have players that they scouted as per their core values. Granted, they might not have the biggest purse or a lot of slots available in the squad, but considering that they are not looking for outright first-team members, they could have taken the risk rather than jumping the gun with Shardul Thakur prior to the auction.
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