R Ashwin accidentally discloses Mumbai Indians trading Shardul Thakur for Deepak Chahar, edits YouTube video later

Ravichandran Ashwin, who has retired from the Indian Premier League, has been doing his analysis online for cricket news around the world. With the retentions' deadline for IPL 2026 mini auctions set to November 15, franchises have already lined up for trades of players from other sides, the most popular being the one between Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja & Sam Curran.

However, Ashwin has now accidentally disclosed another secret trade between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants for a deal over Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar. Ashwin claimed that the five-time champions have traded Shardul Thakur in by giving away Chahar to LSG as the latter is an injury-prone option to have in the squad.

"Mumbai Indians will not release anyone. The biggest factor for them is Deepak Chahar, who is a bit injury prone, they have secured Shardul Thakur on a trade from LSG as his replacement. The deal is done now. MI may need another spinner, but they will find that too very easily," Ashwin said in a now deleted segment in a video on his YouTube channel.

Check the deleted segment from Ashwin's video here

However, a popular report in the media has made a claim, which is slightly contrary from what Ashwin claimed in his video. If a report by Cricbuzz is to be believed, the talks are ongoing between LSG and MI for a cash-deal trade for Shardul Thakur and Arjun Tendulkar. However, these deals are being treated as separate cash deals and not a direct player swap.

Speaking more about the retentions, the IPL governing council has allotted time till November 15 for the franchises to complete their trades and lock in their retentions ahead of the upcoming 2026 season. The mini auction will be held on December 27, keeping the cricket fans already hooked onto the drama ahead of the next edition of the cash-rich tournament.