Shardul Thakur, the veteran Indian all-rounder, has broken the silence on the fallout of Hardik Pandya and the speculations around his possible trade ahead of the 2027 season.
The Mumbai Indians have reached the end of another disastrous campaign in 2026. Ever since Hardik Pandya took over as the skipper of the MI side, they have finished at the bottom of the points table in two seasons, 2024 and now possibly 2026 as well.
MI is currently placed ninth in the points table with just eight points after having played 12 matches in this season. They earned a consolation victory over the Punjab Kings in the last game and will aim for wins in the remaining contests to not finish in the bottom two for the season.
Shardul Thakur opens up on Hardik Pandya's possible fallout with MI
Amid the win against the Punjab Kings, the star seamer Shardul Thakur, who picked four wickets in the night for his team, was questioned on Hardik Pandya's availability and also the speculations over the internet that suggest a possible trade involving the cricketer.
Thakur too opined that speculations are common on social media, and these are management decisions that he is not aware of. However, speaking of the skipper, he confirmed that Hardik missed those games only due to his injury.
"Plenty of discussions keep happening on social media; some are right, some are wrong, but these are also management decisions," Thakur said, as quoted by Cricbuzz. "And if we talk about the player, Hardik had an injury, so he was not able to travel for two games. He travelled to Raipur but was not able to play the game; now he is training in Mumbai," he added.
Also Read: LSG vs CSK Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- IPL 2026, Match 59
Shardul Thakur is the second-highest wicket-taker for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
The veteran paceman has represented several franchises in his IPL career, be it the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, or the Lucknow Super Giants. He was traded from LSG to the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2026 season.
Shardul Thakur currently captains the Mumbai domestic team and has played an entire domestic career on these home tracks. Hence, he was considered a crucial addition to the side. However, the Mumbai Indians made some shocking decisions, like bringing him in as an impact player but not utilising him for a single ball.
Shardul Thakur, despite playing in eight matches this season and as per his nature of the game, has picked 10 wickets in a season where MI bowlers are scanty of wickets. However, his economy is the second-worst among all bowlers used this season.
Key factors that led the MI's downfall in IPL 2026
Several factors led to MI's failure in IPL 2026; one of the most prevalent ones remains the poor captaincy from Hardik Pandya or the low wicket-taking season for Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah has picked just three wickets despite playing all games this season.
Other key factors would include the lack of performance from their strike bowlers, like Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, or Deepak Chahar. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's inconsistency with the bat has been another alarming factor.
ALSO READ: Preity Zinta’s serious conversation with Ricky Ponting goes viral after PBKS’ 5th consecutive defeat
Shardul Thakur breaks silence on Hardik Pandya-MI fallout rumours with stunning ‘some discussions are right’ comment
Published - 15 May 2026, 01:22 PM | Updated - 15 May 2026, 01:29 PM
Shardul Thakur, the veteran Indian all-rounder, has broken the silence on the fallout of Hardik Pandya and the speculations around his possible trade ahead of the 2027 season.
The Mumbai Indians have reached the end of another disastrous campaign in 2026. Ever since Hardik Pandya took over as the skipper of the MI side, they have finished at the bottom of the points table in two seasons, 2024 and now possibly 2026 as well.
MI is currently placed ninth in the points table with just eight points after having played 12 matches in this season. They earned a consolation victory over the Punjab Kings in the last game and will aim for wins in the remaining contests to not finish in the bottom two for the season.
Shardul Thakur opens up on Hardik Pandya's possible fallout with MI
Amid the win against the Punjab Kings, the star seamer Shardul Thakur, who picked four wickets in the night for his team, was questioned on Hardik Pandya's availability and also the speculations over the internet that suggest a possible trade involving the cricketer.
Thakur too opined that speculations are common on social media, and these are management decisions that he is not aware of. However, speaking of the skipper, he confirmed that Hardik missed those games only due to his injury.
"Plenty of discussions keep happening on social media; some are right, some are wrong, but these are also management decisions," Thakur said, as quoted by Cricbuzz. "And if we talk about the player, Hardik had an injury, so he was not able to travel for two games. He travelled to Raipur but was not able to play the game; now he is training in Mumbai," he added.
Also Read: LSG vs CSK Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- IPL 2026, Match 59
Shardul Thakur is the second-highest wicket-taker for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
The veteran paceman has represented several franchises in his IPL career, be it the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, or the Lucknow Super Giants. He was traded from LSG to the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2026 season.
Shardul Thakur currently captains the Mumbai domestic team and has played an entire domestic career on these home tracks. Hence, he was considered a crucial addition to the side. However, the Mumbai Indians made some shocking decisions, like bringing him in as an impact player but not utilising him for a single ball.
Shardul Thakur, despite playing in eight matches this season and as per his nature of the game, has picked 10 wickets in a season where MI bowlers are scanty of wickets. However, his economy is the second-worst among all bowlers used this season.
Key factors that led the MI's downfall in IPL 2026
Several factors led to MI's failure in IPL 2026; one of the most prevalent ones remains the poor captaincy from Hardik Pandya or the low wicket-taking season for Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah has picked just three wickets despite playing all games this season.
Other key factors would include the lack of performance from their strike bowlers, like Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, or Deepak Chahar. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's inconsistency with the bat has been another alarming factor.
ALSO READ: Preity Zinta’s serious conversation with Ricky Ponting goes viral after PBKS’ 5th consecutive defeat
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IPL Mumbai Indians Shardul Thakur Hardik PandyaAbout the Author
Subhomoy Datta is an author at Cricketaddictor, and he has been working at this website since June 2...