Mumbai Indians all-rounder Arjun Tendulkar may end up leaving the franchise before the retentions for IPL 2026 are announced. According to a report by Cricbuzz, there are chances that Arjun will be traded to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in exchange for Shardul Thakur. This may very well be one of the biggest trades of the upcoming IPL season with the Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja also making headlines.
The report further stated that Arjun and Thakur's might be treated as independent, all-cash deals and the two will not be part of a direct trade. Reportedly, there is a strong possibility for the trade to happen and an announcement is expected in the coming few days with all the franchises retention list for the upcoming season set to be announced on November 15.
Big gap between the two's prices
There is a big gap between the prices that the two players were signed for during the IPL 2025 auction. While Arjun was acquired by MI for INR 30 lakh, Thakur was signed for a price of INR 2 crore by the Lucknow-based franchise. On one hand, Arjun featured in no games for MI throughout the 2025 season while Thakur played 10 matches for LSG, picking up a total of 13 scalps.
Overall, Arjun has so far appeared in just five matches in his IPL career, but Shardul has quite a lot of experience by his side and has played 105 matches in the tournament. The latter has 107 wickets and 307 runs under his belt, having played for a total of six different franchises over the course of 10 seasons.
Arjun and Thakur's Ranji Trophy campaigns
Meanwhile, both Arjun and Thakur are representing Goa and Mumbai respectively in the Ranji Trophy. However, both of them haven't been able to impress either with the bat or the ball with four rounds of the tournament over. Arjun currently has 10 scalps and 49 runs under his name while Thakur has scored 57 runs and has taken five wickets in the tournament so far.