Mohammed Shami is set to be traded away from Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Lucknow Super Giants snapping up the experienced Indian seamer ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
As per a PTI report, Shami will join LSG right on the cusp of the IPL player retention deadline, making the move over from SRH after his big-budget purchase ahead of the 2025 season. Shami was purchased for INR 10 crore by Hyderabad, who were at that time the losing finalists, but things didn’t quite go to plan during Shami’s season in orange this year.
LSG, meanwhile, target an area of weakness, with their domestic seam bowling having struggled due to mass injuries and a lack of experience. With Shardul Thakur having been traded away to Mumbai Indians, Shami joins Arjun Tendulkar as two incoming seamers for the Ekana-based team.
Shami has 133 IPL wickets to his name in 119 matches, at an economy of 8.63. However, he didn’t have the best season in Hyderabad, conceding more than 11 runs an over and only taking 6 wickets in 2025. He did enjoy his best IPL season the year prior, taking 28 wickets while representing Gujarat Titans in 2024.
Mentorship role for Shami in LSG?
Shami will join a pace unit including the exciting Mayank Yadav, another seamer who has struggled with injury at the outset of his career. If all goes to plan for LSG, Shami and Yadav could provide a formidable pace core, but injury history would be a concern for the team.
Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, and Prince Yadav are other Indian seamers in their group, as well as tall Kiwi William O’Rourke, but some of these players might be released into next month’s auction.
Shami was also linked to Delhi Capitals, another team looking for fast-bowling help. However, LSG will be paying the experienced Indian seamer for the upcoming season, further adding to a top-heavy salary list with Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran earning the big bucks.
While Shami is certainly one of India’s best seamers in the country’s history, he has incredibly found himself out of favour as he struggles with injury and consistency. However, Shami did play as India’s frontline pacer in this year’s ICC Champions Trophy victory, and has retained his wicket-taking knack while representing Bengal domestically.






