“Zaheer Khan made a call, and he said we are looking at you as a potential replacement. That was the day, I started to get into the IPL mindset again, and the hopes came back,” said Shardul Thakur.
Overview
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer, Shardul Thakur, unveiled the moment he started to get back into the zone of the 18th edition Indian Premier League (IPL) after being unsold in the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the match 7 innings break between LSG and SRH to the host.
Shardul, with a base price of Rs 2 crore, went unsold for the IPL 2025 and started practicing for his County Championship tenure with Essex. But his plans changed when LSG mentor Zaheer Khan approached him for an injury replacement. The right-arm pace bowler joined the LSG squad as a replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan.
Mohsin tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee on December 31 during the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The right-arm medium pacer became the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing edition, with six wickets in two games, picked against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The 33-year-old is now the purple cap holder after finishing with figures of 4/34 in the triumph over SRH.
“See, I feel all these things keep happening in the cricket. It was just one bad day in the auction, I didn’t get picked by any of the franchises. But unfortunately, there were a few injuries here and there, and there were a few inquiries about whether I could join the camp,” said Shardul during the mid-innings break.
“But LSG was the one who approached me first, so I had to give them preference, and even when I was closely working with Zaheer Khan, he gave me a call. And it was always on the cards, I had to accept it. And like I always say, skills are always there, talent is always there. It’s just about the form and bad days, you have to go through it in cricket,” he added.
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The LSG fast-medium bowler will stay with the camp until the end of the cash-rich league, and will no longer be available for Essex. After picking his career-best IPL figures against SRH, the right-arm bowler reached the milestone of 100 wickets in the match 97 of his IPL career. He enriches the milestone, but winning the game remains the most important matter for him.
“It’s always good to be on the score sheet, but yeah, winning the game is important to me. I’ll keep doing something, or the other. That’s my attitude. I don’t much look at the wicket column or the runs column, but to create an impact in the game, to create match-winning performances, that’s what I look at,” Thakur said.
The pacer was awarded the Player of the Match for his spell against SRH on March 27. He revealed that he was informed of his possible return to the IPL 2025 during Ranji trophy knockout phase. During the Ranji competition, Shardul displayed incredible form taking 35 wickets in nine games and brilliant contributions with the bat.
The medium pacer dismantled the top order batters, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, for meagre runs in his second over. He removed Abhinav Manohar and Mohammed Shami in the end overs of the first innings.
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