“All These Things Happen…”: Shardul Thakur Reflects On IPL 2025 Auction Rejection

Shardul Thakur made a strong return with a four-wicket performance, helping Lucknow Super Giants limit Sunrisers Hyderabad to 190/9 in their IPL match on Thursday.

Shardul Thakur’s Four-Wicket Haul Powers LSG’s Dominant Bowling Display

After choosing to bowl, Shardul (4/34) gave LSG a great start by removing Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan in consecutive balls in the third over. He got Sharma out with a short ball and then dismissed Kishan, who was caught behind off a delivery down the leg side. Travis Head (47 off 28) played aggressively, hitting boundaries and sixes to take on the opposition.

It has to be noted that Shardul Thakur had played for five different teams before the auction but went unsold. However, Lucknow Super Giants picked him up as a replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan on Sunday.

Just four days later, Thakur is now leading the Purple Cap race for the most wickets. He took two wickets against Delhi Capitals in the opening match and followed it up with a 4-34 performance, helping Lucknow win by five wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday.

Thakur Reflects on IPL Journey and the Ups and Downs of Cricket

When asked if he thought he would be playing in the IPL this season, Thakur, who was named player of the match, said:

“Honestly, no but I had made my plans. I also planned to play county cricket if I was not picked in the IPL.”

” Zaheer Khan had called me when I was playing in the Ranji Trophy and he told me that you may be called in as a potential replacement so don’t switch yourself off.”

“If you are called in as a replacement, you are likely to start. Ups and downs are a part of life. I have always backed my skills.”

In a tournament where most pitches have been good for batting and teams have easily scored over 200 runs, Thakur said the pitches should be more balanced so that bowlers also have a chance to perform well.

Against Hyderabad, Thakur made quick work of the top order, dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan cheaply. Kishan, who scored a century in the previous game, was out for a first-ball duck to Thakur.

“Bowlers get very little in these kinds of pitches,” he added.

“Even in the last game I said that pitches should be prepared in such a way that the game hangs in the balance for batters and bowlers.”

Head was aggressive against Avesh, hitting him for two sixes and a four to score 18 runs in the fourth over, as Avesh struggled with his line and length. Travis Head got lucky twice during his innings.

First, he hit a high ball off Ravi Bishnoi, and Pooran, standing at long-on, had a simple chance to catch it but dropped the ball. That missed chance cost Bishnoi, as Head later hit him for a six over covers.

Then, Bishnoi had another chance to dismiss Head when he failed to catch a difficult return catch off a shot in the sixth over.

Finally, Head’s luck ran out when fast bowler Prince Yadav bowled him out for his first IPL wicket.

Henrich Klaasen (26 off 17) looked dangerous but got run out in an unusual way. Yadav stopped a straight drive from Nitish Reddy with his follow-through, and the ball ricocheted onto the stumps.

Aniket Verma played a quick cameo, scoring 36 runs off 13 balls, including five sixes, but was caught by David Miller off leg-spinner Disvesh Rathi.

SRH captain Pat Cummins (18 off 4) hit three sixes in his first three balls but was dismissed soon after.

READ: CSK vs RCB, IPL 2025: Match Preview, Head-to-Head, And Predicted XI