IPL 2026, Shardul Thakur and Rutherford Joins MI: The IPL 2026 auction will be held in December. Before that, all teams must submit a list of retained and released players to the IPL Governing Council by November 15th. This has led to a flurry of activity among all teams, and significant squad changes are being made under the trade window.
Ahead of the mini auction, a trade has been made between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Mumbai Indians for all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Now, Shardul Thakur will be seen playing for the Mumbai Indians again. The Mumbai Indians have made the trade with the Lucknow Super Giants. The Mumbai all-rounder was signed by the Lucknow Super Giants for ₹2 crore as an injury replacement for the 18th edition of the league.
Shardul Thakur played 10 matches for Lucknow last season. He took 13 wickets for Lucknow. He has been a useful player for every franchise he has played for in the IPL so far. He has delivered impressive performances time and again. The all-rounder was traded to Mumbai Indians for ₹2 crore.
Shardul Thakur went unsold in the 2025 IPL Mega Auction. He was signed by the Lucknow Super Giants for ₹2 crore as a replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan. In 2024, he was part of the Chennai Super Kings, who signed him for ₹4 crore. That season, he took 5 wickets in 9 matches.
It's worth noting that Shardul Thakur is currently out of the Indian team. However, he has a significant responsibility in domestic cricket. He captains the Mumbai team in the Ranji Trophy. The team has been performing well under his leadership so far.
After trading Shardul Thakur from LSG on Thursday, Mumbai Indians also acquired explosive West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford. Rutherford, who was part of the Gujarat Titans last season, has joined MI via trade. Mumbai Indians shared the news of the Sherfane Rutherford deal on their social media account X.
The 27-year-old left-handed batsman has played 44 T20 matches for the West Indies and 23 IPL matches. Rutherford was part of the Delhi Capitals in 2019 and RCB in 2022. He also played for MI in 2020 and KKR in 2024. However, he did not find a place in the playing XI. Rutherford's inclusion has strengthened Mumbai's middle-order batting and made it more lethal.
The upcoming mini auction will also mark the second time the event has taken place in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai’s Coca Cola Arena having hosted it exactly two years ago. Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, meanwhile, had hosted the two-day mega auction in November last year.
ESPNCricinfo is reporting that the upcoming IPL auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. Before that BCCI will officially announce all the transfers alongside the list of player retention and releases on Saturday - a month ahead of the IPL auction.
