IPL 2026 Trade: MI Sign Local Lad Shardul Thakur And West Indies All-Rounder Shurfane Rutherford

Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians have made two major additions to their side ahead of the 2026 IPL mini auction on December 16 in Dubai. The 6-time champions have roped in local all-rounder Shardul Thakur and West Indies' Sherfane Rutherford.

Both the players have joined the Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal worth over 2 crores.

Shardul Thakur, who was brought in by the Lucknow Super Giants in the middle of last season for the injured Mohsin Khan, has been traded to Mumbai Indians for his existing fee of 2 crores.

The Palghar, Maharashtra-born all-rounder played 10 matches last edition, scoring 18 runs and picking 13 wickets in what was his 10th IPL season.

West Indies' Sherfane Rutherford, who spent the last two seasons with KKR and Gujarat Titans, has been brought in by MI for his existing fee of 2.6 crores.

The all-rounder returns to the 6-time champions after the 2020 season, where he was a part of the squad, but did not play a single game. In his short and abrupt IPL career, Rutherford has played 23 matches across 2019, 2022 and 2025, racking up 397 runs and with only a single wicket to his name.

Shardul Thakur Now Involved In 3 IPL Trade Deals

It seems as if Shardul Thakur loves moving to one franchise to another on a trade deal.

This is the 3rd instance that the all-rounder has switched colours in the IPL through a trade move. In 2017, the Rising Pune Supergiant had bought from the Punjab Kings with the Kolkata Knight Riders trading him in from Delhi Capitals for the 2023 season.

Overall in this IPL career, Shardul has played 105 matches in which he scored 325 runs and took 107 wickets. He has also been a 2-time winner with the Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2021.