Shardul Thakur Grateful For MI Homecoming: ‘It Was Pending For Many Years’ – Cricket.com

The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will finally see one of Mumbai’s stalwarts represent Mumbai Indians in the competition, with Shardul Thakur getting traded to the five-time champions. Shardul has 10 IPL seasons under his belt, but remarkably, somehow, the 34-year-old had never once been ‘home’, with him ironically playing the most for MI’s arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
But that will change come IPL 2026, with the pacer getting traded from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 2 crore. 
In a recent interview, the 34-year-old spoke about how this homecoming is long overdue.
“Everyone likes to play in the home venue and on the home ground. I think this has been pending for many years,” Shardul told Sportstar.
“But when the time comes, that’s when it becomes possible. So I think finally the time has come.”
Shardul was one of two marquee trades MI made ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, with West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford also being another one. The franchise also traded leg-spinner Mayank Markande from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Going back to Shardul, the 34-year-old is an IPL veteran with 107 wickets to his name in 105 appearances. He took 13 wickets for LSG in IPL 2025 after being signed as an injury replacement. 
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