Shardul Thakur has again penned a remarkable comeback, demonstrating his value in IPL 2025 season. Playing in place of injured Mohsin Khan, Lucknow Super Giants’ pacer not only produced under pressure but now tops the Purple Cap race as the leading wicket-taker. His notable performance against LSG on Thursday, when he posted a match-winning spell, further reinforced his resurgence.
The all-rounder from Mumbai had lost the confidence of the Indian team management, and the Impact Player rule in the IPL cut drastically into his demand in the league. This saw him go unsold at the recent auction, and he must now prepare for a summer break with Essex playing for county cricket. But with LSG reeling from an injury crisis, losing the likes of pacers Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, and Akash Deep, team mentor Zaheer Khan made the call to Thakur to help fill the gap.
“It was just one bad day in the auction, I didn’t get picked by any of the franchises… 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,”
Shardul was instrumental against Delhi Capitals, claiming two vital wickets, and followed it up with a magical four-wicket haul on Thursday, becoming the top wicket-taker of the tournament. He stressed the need to be aggressive in his approach, particularly against Sunrisers Hyderabad’s big-hitters, who tend to look for opportunities to score from every opportunity. His comeback tale is one of sheer brilliance, as he continues to shut his critics up with strong performances.
“I think they [SRH batters] are coming hard at bowlers so why not bowlers go hard at them? So the talk was around what the plan should be and we collectively said let’s go hard at them, let’s take our chances,” Thakur added.
