The new Indian Premier League season has kicked off, with plenty of fresh faces across franchises. A refreshed dressing room lifts the mood and also sees familiar faces return, rekindling old connections. For Shardul Thakur, this is more of a homecoming rather than a fresh start. The Mumbai Indians‘ pacer is well versed with the franchise, as it goes back to his days as a net bowler between 2010 and 2012. While this marks Thakur’s long- awaited first stint with MI, he has already shared the dressing room with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian team. Meanwhile, the camaraderie between Rohit and Thakur is well known off the field, with the former India captain often teasing the pacer. That rapport was on full display in the MI camp as well, when a playful moment between the two brought smiles all around. Thakur had earlier delivered a match-winning performance against KKR, guiding MI to their first season-opening victory in over ten years.
After the big win, Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani addressed the team in the dressing room, singling out Thakur for his impressive performance.
While speaking about his return, the Indian pacer stressed, “very happy I could finally come here and play for my home city, MI’s thing was supposed to happen a long, long back.”
This comment was received with a playful response by no other than Rohit, who led MI successfully from 2013-2023, winning 5 titles along the way.
Rohit responded with a touch of humour, saying, “Correct, what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say something?” The remark left Thakur momentarily stuttering.
Meanwhile, Shardul has been out of the Indian team for a long time now, as he didn’t even get many opportunities during Rohit’s leadership in the Indian setup between 2021 and 2025. Thakur has played only a small fraction of matches despite the long, demanding calendar. After finding some rhythm in the T20I setup around 2021-22, his last appearance came in 2022 against the West Indies. Rohit went on to lead India to a T20 World Cup-winning campaign in 2024, but Thakur wasn’t part of the squad, not even making the list as a standby player. Leading into the 2024 T20 WC, while struggling to make an impact for ex-franchise Chennai Super Kings with only 5 wickets in 9 appearances, may have led to such a decision.
Shardul looking to make a mark in iPL 2026
The 34-year-old remains highly regarded for his ability to deliver in crucial moments, often striking at key stages of the game. With Hardik Pandya spearheading a new era at Mumbai Indians and the team looking to start afresh, Thakur has a clear point to prove. As a Maharashtra native, he will be keen to perform for his home side and repay the trust placed in his experience this season.
Thakur can prove to be a major asset for MI this campaign as he brings a decade of experience playing for 7 different franchises in this league.
