The former captain and the veteran opening batter of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma, arrived in Jaipur along with the pace bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thakur, for the opening round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025/26 for the Mumbai side, as they will feature in all of their games at the Sawai Mansingh Cricket Stadium.

According to the reports, Rohit has made himself available for selection for the first couple of group-stage games on December 24 against Sikkim and later on December 26 against Uttarakhand. The games will give a great injection to the 50-over side’s top order, besides offering Rohit enormous time ahead of the home ODI series against New Zealand earlier next year.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it mandatory for the national players to be part of domestic cricket if they are not part of the international assignments. That’s why, along with Rohit, Delhi’s Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have headlined the 20-member squad with KL Rahul featuring for the Karnataka side.

Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur reach Jaipur for VHT 2025/26

Jaipur is the venue base for this opening leg, with Sawai Mansingh Stadium among the host grounds for Mumbai’s Elite Group C matches. The timing matters as the group stage is rarely forgiving. Under Thakur’s leadership, they didn’t have a great time in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26 as they couldn’t qualify for the final.

Watch the video here: 

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There is a possibility of Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube featuring for the Mumbai side in the last two league games on January 06 and 08 in Jaipur, against Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, respectively. With the staggered return, Mumbai can rotate combinations without losing its senior core. Rohit, during that time, will turn his focus to international cricket.

The Nagpur-born will feature in the three-match 50-over series against the Kiwis on January 11, with the subsequent matches on January 14 and 18. The two domestic games will give a massive value for the opener ahead of the next year’s assignment.

The Indian allrounder, Shardul Thakur, has been blessed with a baby boy with his wife, Mittali Parulkar. Both of them confirmed the news together on December 21, nearly three years after their marriage. Currently out of India’s contention across formats, Shardul Thakur is representing the Mumbai cricket side in the ongoing domestic season in 2025-26.

On December 20, the Indian player and his wife welcomed a baby boy and revealed the news on their Instagram account. The couple wrote that they had kept their pregnancy a secret from the public for the last nine months, but have protected with feet and endless love.

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Shardul and Mithila got engaged back in November 2021. The two married later in 2023, which was roughly 15 months after their engagement. “Hidden beneath parents' heat, protected by silence, faith, and endless love. Our little secret is finally here. Welcome baby boy- the dream we held quietly for nine beautiful months.”- The all-rounder wrote on Instagram.

Shardul Thakur and his wife blessed with baby boy

On the cricketing news, Shardul Thakur was recently traded in by the Mumbai Indians (MI) from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after undergoing an unimpressive Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season for the Rishabh Pant-led side. He was also appointed as captain of the Mumbai side in the white-ball formats after senior man Ajinkya Rahane decided to step down from the responsibilities a few months ago.

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Under Shardul’s captaincy, Mumbai finished third on the Super League Group A points table and failed to reach the knockout stage of the recently finished Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025. It was not a great performance from the powerhouse of Indian domestic cricket after they topped the group A eight-team standings with six victories and just a solitary defeat from the seven encounters.

Shardul or now will turn his attention to the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025/26 before shifting the focus back to red ball cricket in the second half of the Ranji Trophy. Then he will start his preparation for the IPL 2026 campaign, offering an opportunity to reignite his national ambitions.

An eventful third over for Tanush Kotian as Mumbai skipper Shardul Thakur utilized 2 DRS to review two back-to-back wide calls. Taking a couple of DRS in two consecutive deliveries, that too for reviewing wide decisions, is not a regular sight in a cricket match. But Thakur dared to do that, and he got some success as well. 

The Super League stage of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025) T20 tournament. For the 132nd match of the contest, Mumbai faced Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on the evening of December 12. Mumbai had a challenging day with the bat, as they scored only 131 runs in the first innings of the match. 

Hyderabad started the run chase with confidence. Aman Rao and Tanmay Agarwal, openers of Hyderabad, took the game away from Mumbai. To break the partnership, Mumbai was looking for some magical moments. During the 8th over of the second innings, when those two openers were batting without any trouble, Thakur decided to use back-to-back reviews to overturn the umpire's decision. 

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Shardul Thakur two back-to-back DRS to review wide calls

On the second ball of the over, Tanush Kotian, a Mumbai spinner, delivered the ball away from the right-handed batter. The batter tried to play a cut shot but failed to connect. The umpire instantly spread his arms to call it a wide. The unhappy Mumbai skipper signaled to take a review. After reviewing the delivery, the third umpire overruled the wide call; Shardul Thakur led Mumbai to get their DRS on point. 

On the very next delivery, the ball was on the leg side; both batter and keeper missed that. The umpire again called for a wide, and Shardul again took a DRS. But this time, the third umpire approved the on-field umpire's call. Mumbai lost a DRS. Eventually, Hyderabad won the match by 9 wickets in 11.5 overs. Agarwal got 75, the highest score of the match. 

Shardul Thakur, the Indian bowling all-rounder, will play for the Mumbai Indians in the 2026 IPL season after being traded from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Thakur joined the Super Giants in IPL 2025 as a replacement player. He has moved to Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal for ₹2 crore and will form a key pace partnership with Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Deepak Chahar.

Mumbai Indians will be Thakur’s seventh IPL team and his fifth team in the last five years. He has been traded, released, and picked in the auction several times. Previously, he has played for Punjab Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants.

Thakur will become the 23rd player to play for both the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, the two most successful teams in IPL history. He joins other greats like Mike Hussey, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, and recently Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, and Dewald Brevis.

Also Read -Shardul Thakur to join Mumbai Indians in all-cash trade deal for IPL 2026

22 Players Who Played for Both MI and CSK

Dwayne Bravo, Jacob Oram, Thisara Perera, Michael Hussey, Ashish Nehra, Dwayne Smith, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Southee, Mustafizur Rahman, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Anshul Kamboj, Dewald Brevis, Richard Gleeson.

Shardul Thakur, as a white-ball player, may not be the most famous, but at No. 8, he will fill an important gap for the five-time champions.

Mumbai Indians Strengthen Squad

Mumbai Indians also got West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford in a trade from the Gujarat Titans for ₹2.6 crore. This cash deal helps the Hardik Pandya-led team fill some big gaps before the auction.

With Rutherford joining, the Mumbai Indians are expected to release Will Jacks from the IPL 2025 squad, along with some domestic players.

While the retention list announcement date (November 15, 2025) is almost close before the IPL 2026 auction, which has been scheduled on December 16, 2025, the IPL franchises have started to announce their trades too. 

IPL 2026: List of traded players

Shardul Thakur (Lucknow Super Giants to Mumbai Indians)

📰 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗨𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗞𝗨𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗣𝗟 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Read more 👉 https://t.co/bwcjR4dDQs pic.twitter.com/NjvmKRA3NZ

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 13, 2025

Indian right-arm pacer Shardul Thakur has been traded from Lucknow Super Giants to Mumbai Indians. ESPNcricinfo has reported that the trade deal happened via an all-cash. While Thakur remained unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, he joined the LSG as the repalcement for injured Mohsin Khan and started the IPL 2025 journey strongly with six wickets in his first two games of the season. He finished the season as the joint second most wicket-taker for LSG with 13 wickets in 10 games. 

Mumbai Indians are set to become the seventh IPL team for Shardul Thakur, who has recorded 107 wickets in 105 IPL matches. 

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Sherfane Rutherford (Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians)

📰 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦

Read more 👉 https://t.co/13g4GNOoRY pic.twitter.com/cKqUu5zlbT

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 13, 2025

Mumbai Indians have also welcomed Caribbean cricketer Sherfane Rutherford, as the 27-year-old middle-order batter has been traded from Gujarat Titans to the five-time IPL champions. Sherfane scored 291 runs in 11 innings with an average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 157.29. He finished the season as the fourth most run-scorer for Titans, however, the franchise has decided to trade him out. 

Sherfane previously served for Delhi Capitals (IPL 2019), Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL 2022), and Gujarat Titans (IPL 2025), and the Caribbean cricketer is now set to serve for his fourth IPL team as Mumbai Indians have traded him in before the IPL 2026 auction. He has scored 397 runs in 23 IPL matches and also has picked up one wicket. 

India’s premier pace bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thakur, is set to join the five-time champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians, ahead of the 2026 season, as the franchise confirms the news in a special video on social media platforms. The reports claimed that Mumbai had an in-principle agreement with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to get Thakur via an all-cash trade deal. 

Both franchises have now agreed to the decision, as the franchises have shown their interest, which has completed the rest of the necessary process. Thakur has now become the first player of the IPL to get traded thrice. In 2017, the Rising Pune Supergiants brought him from the Punjab Kings before the Kolkata Knight Riders earned his services from the Delhi Capitals.

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Thakur, who went unsold in the 2025 mega auction, was picked by the Lucknow side as a replacement for Mohsin Khan at the base price of INR 2 crore. He took six wickets in the first couple of games of the 2025 season but struggled towards the end, finishing with 13 wickets in 10 games at an expensive economy rate of 11.02.

Watch: Mumbai Indians earn Shardul Thakur’s services; reportedly set to leave Arjun Tendulkar

This is a homecoming for the Mumbai-born, who was a support bowler for the Mumbai Indians in the 2010-12 season and has been appointed as the captain of the domestic cricket side in the ongoing edition. Thakur could bring a different balance to the eleven, thanks to his lower-order, powerful batting and the offer of giving 2-3 overs.

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In this process, Mumbai are expected to leave out the left-arm pacer, Arjun Tendulkar, who has been playing for MI since IPL 2023. He was brought by the franchise for INR 30 lakh last year and has now been traded to LSG.

Junior Tendulkar now can get a better chance in Lucknow. He was first bought by the franchise in the 2021 auction for a price of INR 20 lakh and made his debut in 2023. In the domestic circuit, he has already left Mumbai and continued to play for the Goa side.

Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur is set to join Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Both Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and MI have submitted an expression of interest to the IPL governing council, which will finalize the trade after the official process is completed.

According to ESPNcricinfo, MI has reached an in-principle agreement with LSG to acquire Thakur through an all-cash trade deal. This becomes the third trade involving Thakur in IPL history. Rising Pune Supergiant bought him from Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2017, and Kolkata Knight Riders acquired him from Delhi Capitals before IPL 2023, both through all-cash transactions.

Thakur went unsold at the 2025 mega auction but was later signed by LSG as a replacement for Mohsin Khan at his base price of INR 2 crore. He began well, taking six wickets in his first two matches of the IPL 2025, but a dip in form later saw him end with 13 wickets in 10 matches at an economy of 11.02.

Homecoming for Thakur; Separate Trade Talks for Tendulkar

For Thakur, the move to Mumbai marks a homecoming. He was part of MI’s setup as a support bowler between 2010 and 2012 and has also captained Mumbai in domestic cricket. His experience with the franchise and understanding of the conditions at home could play a crucial role as MI look to strengthen their pace attack.

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Earlier, R Ashwin unintentionally revealed details of a possible trade involving Thakur and Deepak Chahar, implying MI had brought in Thakur in exchange for the injury-prone Chennai Super Kings pacer. However, a Cricbuzz report clarified that MI and LSG are discussing separate cash-based deals involving Shardul Thakur and Arjun Tendulkar, not a direct swap. The IPL authorities are expected to confirm the trade once all paperwork is completed.

Amid the talks of a Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja swap deal between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, it seems that Mumbai Indians (MI) has already finalized a deal with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction. 

During a YouTube conversation, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin made a shocking claim about the transfer of Shardul Thakur from LSG to MI. Ashwin made the claim in a now-deleted portion of a video on his YouTube channel, ‘Ash ki Baat.’ According to his claim, the Mumbai Indians roped in Thakur in place of Deepak Chahar. And maybethe multi-time franchise can try to get in a spinner also. 

"I don’t see any releases happening from Mumbai; they won’t release anyone. Their biggest concern would be finding a replacement for Deepak Chahar, who’s a bit injury-prone. They’ve secured Shardul Thakur through a trade from LSG. That has happened; they will probably look for a spinner and will get one too," Ashwin said. 

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Shardul Thakur from MI to LSG ahead of IPL 2026

Last season, during the mega auction, Shardul Thakur went unsold surprisingly. Later, after begining of IPL 2025, LSG signed in Thakur for his base price of INR 2 crore in place of injured Mohsin Khan. The experinced pace bowling quickly made his mark by plucking six wickets in first two matches, including a four-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Though, he could not hold on the momentum and ended the season with 13 wickets from ten innings at an economy of 11.02. 

It is believed that LSG and MI can engage in a player trade deal between Thakur and Arjun Tendulkar through all-cash deals. Arjun has been with the Mumbai-based franchise since 2021 but barely got enough chance to perform. So far, he has played only five matches and taken three wickets and scored 13 runs. According to the guideline, all IPL franchises will have to announce their lists of retained and released players' names by November 15.  

Ahead of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) released a talented 16-member team for their opening match against Jammu and Kashmir, which begins on October 15 at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar. The team will be captained by all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who takes over from Ajinkya Rahane after the senior batter opted to relinquish the leadership role this season. Mumbai will hope to start the new campaign on a high as they pursue their 42nd Ranji Trophy championship.

However, two of Mumbai’s biggest names, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, are not part of the squad, which has left many fans surprised. The MCA has now explained the reasons behind their absence. According to MCA secretary Abhay Hadap, Suryakumar Yadav was not dropped by the selectors. Instead, his availability for the first match was not confirmed. “No, SKY hasn’t been dropped. It’s just that his availability wasn’t confirmed for this match. The Mumbai Cricket Association’s staff tried to contact him, but he didn’t give his availability for this match to us,” Hadap told TOI.

As for Shreyas Iyer, the middle-order batter has officially requested a six-month break from red-ball cricket due to recurring back problems. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sanctioned his plea, enabling him to get back to work on his recovery before turning out for longer-form cricket again. He will be missed, but the administration is confident this respite will see him gain full fitness for future international commitments.

Mumbai Begin a New Chapter Under Shardul Thakur

Despite missing two senior stars, Mumbai still look strong on paper. Ajinkya Rahane will play a key role in the middle order, while Shardul Thakur’s all-round skills will bring balance and leadership to the side. Sarfaraz Khan, who recently recovered from injury, makes his return and will reunite with his younger brother Musheer Khan. The bowling unit also appears to be in good shape with Tushar Deshpande and Royston Dias strengthening the pace unit.

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Youngster Ayush Mhatre, who played as captain of India's U-19 team and is part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL team, has also been drafted into the unit. Mumbai, which is in Elite Group D with Delhi, Hyderabad, and Jammu & Kashmir, will look to kick-start their season on a high note and take one step ahead after last season's runners-up finish to Vidarbha.

Mumbai Squad for Ranji Trophy 2025–26:

Shardul Thakur (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani, Siddhesh Lad, Musheer Khan, Ayush Mhatre, Tanush Kotian, Aakash Anand (WK), Hardik Tamore (WK), Akhil Herwadkar, Irfan Umair, Sylvester Dsouza, Royston Dias.

On the opening day of the semifinal round in the Duleep Trophy 2025, South Zone enjoyed a fine time with the bat thanks to the unbeaten 148-run knock from Narayan Jagadeesan and a half-century from Devdutt Padikkal. On the other hand, West Zone smashed 363/6 with Ruturaj Gaikwad clubbing 184 against Central Zone at the two grounds of the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. 

South Zone stretched their fantastic batting from the opening day and got bundled out for 536 runs in 169.2 overs to end the second day’s play. Narayan Jagadeesan extended their knock of 197 runs in 352 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and a couple of sixes before getting run out.

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Ricky Bhui celebrated a fine half-century and ended with 54 runs in 131 balls, thanks to three boundaries and two sixes. At number three, Tanay Thyagarajan drilled 58 runs in 116 balls, shouldering on four boundaries as they got bundled out for 536. Nishant Sindhu, who had a long bowling of 47.2 overs, picked up five wickets in the innings.  

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

West Zone, on the other hand, ended with 438 runs in the first innings. It was a fabulous batting show from them after being reduced to 10/2 in the fourth over. Tanush Kotian ended with 76 runs in 166 balls at a strike rate of 45.68 with six boundaries.

Captain of the West Zone, the pace bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thalur, creamed 64 runs in 98 balls to take them to 438 runs in 108 overs. In reply, Central Zone displayed a great batting show with 229/2 with all of the batsmen crossing the 40-run mark. Danish Malewar ended with 76 runs while Shubham Sharma remained unbeaten on 60 runs in 148 balls. They still trail by 209 runs in the second innings of the fixture.

Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

South Zone- 536/10 (Narayan Jagadeesan 197, Tanay Thyagarajan 58, Ricky Bhu 54, Nishant Sindhu 5/125) against North Zone

Central Zone- 229/2 (Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 60*, Arzan Nagwaswalla 1/15) trail West Zone 438/10 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 76, Shardul Thakur 64, Saransh Jain 3/121) by 209 runs.