Mumbai Indians complete trade deals of Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford before IPL retentions announcement

Lucknow Super Giants trade Shardul Thakur to Mumbai Indians (BCCI Photo)

Mumbai Indians (MI) have completed the trade deal of Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford on Wednesday. Thakur, a Mumbai based bowling all-rounder, was traded from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for his base price of Rs 2 crore. Rutherford was signed by the five-time champions for Rs 2.6 crore, which was his existing fee at Gujarat Titans (GT).

The Mumbai based cricketer was roped in by LSG last season as a replacement for the same amount. He featured in 10 matches and injected 13 scalps. Thakur has previously been part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant.

Rutherford, on the other hand, made crucial runs for the Titans batting in the middle-order. He amassed 291 runs from 11 innings at a healthy strike rate of 157.29. In total he has played 23 IPL matches so far, and has previously represented Delhi Capitals in 2019 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2022. He was part of the MI squad in 2020 and the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024, but did not feature in the playing XI during those seasons.

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How did LSG, MI, and GT fare last season?

LSG had endured an unsuccessful campaign last season, finishing seventh with six wins in 14 matches.

GT showed great temperament in the initial stage, which faded as the league progressed. However, the initial flourish helped them qualify for the playoffs, where they lost against MI.

The five-time champions, on the other hand, showed massive improvement after a slow start to the season. The unit led by Hardik Pandya finished fourth, winning eight of their fourteen matches in the league stage and went to beat GT by 20 runs in the Eliminator. However, they were outmuscled by a match-winning show by Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer in Qualifier 2.