Shardul Thakur celebrates the wicket of Ishan Kishan.
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI
Shardul Thakur, who had gone unsold at the IPL auction, was gearing up to turn out for Essex in the County Championship games when Lucknow Super Giants approached him. The team was in need of a last minute tried-and-tested replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan.
Shardul answered the call and has slotted into the team seamlessly, taking six wickets in two games at an average of 8.83. After his superb spell played a big role in restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to a below-par total, which LSG chased down with 23 balls to spare, Mitchell Marsh lauded the 33-year-old.
“Shardul bowled outstandingly and set the tone for us, especially with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, the way they go, you’re under pressure straight away. Shardul showed his experience against those guys and certainly towards the back end bowled really well,” he said.
Another standout performer with the ball was the relatively unknown Prince Yadav. In just his second IPL game, he prevented the SRH batting juggernaut from going ballistic while getting the prized scalp of Head.
“Really proud of Prince. In his second IPL game and for him to bowl the way he did and to execute the way he did, it will hopefully give him a lot of confidence moving forward. You rely on your depth in this tournament, it’s a long tournament and for guys like him to get an opportunity early and stand up for us was really impressive,” he added.
Published – March 28, 2025 06:24 pm IST
