Shardul Thakur’s elite mindset against Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head shows why he’s the ‘lord’

Shardul Thakur made a superb impact for LSG this season, claiming 6 wickets from 2 matches, despite having remained unsold at IPL auction.

Shardul Thakur’s elite mindset against Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head shows why he’s the ‘lord’

Shardul Thakur showcased his heroics with a four-wicket haul against SRH (via Hindustan Times)

Despite having gone unsold in the 2025 IPL Auction, veteran Indian pacer Shardul Thakur made a stunning comeback. He showcased fans the reason why he is referred to as the ‘lord.’ The 33-year-old spoke about his strategies after guiding LSG to a victory over SRH. 

Shardul Thakur went unsold in the IPL Mega Auction, after he was released by his former side CSK at the end of the 2024 season. He was not picked up by any franchise for the 2025 season, owing to a string of disappointing displays in the IPL as well as for the Indian national team. In two seasons between 2023 and 2024 in the IPL, Thakur picked only 12 wickets in 20 matches, at an economy rate of over 9.5. 

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Having failed to make it into any team ahead of the 2025 IPL season, Shardul Thakur instead decided to play the County Championship for Essex, with the hopes of getting picked for the upcoming England Tests. However, in a surprising turn of events, the 33-year-old was signed by the Lucknow Super Giants as a replacement for injured Mohsin Khan.

Despite being approached from other IPL teams before the start of the season, Thakur revealed that he specifically responded to the approach made by LSG mentor and former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan. LSG are dealing with a plethora of injury issues, with Mayank Yadav and Akash Deep struggling to regain fitness. Mohsin Khan was ruled out for the entirety of the season due to an ACL injury.

In their absence, the experienced Shardul Thakur led the line. He scalped six wickets in his first two matches to become the season’s leading wicket-taker. He has bowled at an average and an economy rate of 8.83. He most recently picked four wickets against SRH, limiting them to a total of 190 runs. Shardul Thakur picked the important wickets of SRH stars Abhishek Sharma and centurion Ishan Kishan.

Speaking after being awarded the MOTM award, revealed that he fully utilized the swing and the chances that he got against SRH. Moreover, he agreed that the SRH openers, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head would have otherwise gone hard at the bowlers. Thakur also called for balanced pitches, and criticized the impact player rule in the IPL as a reason for high-scoring games, echoing Kagiso Rabada’s views.

I think they [SRH batters] are coming hard at bowlers and 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.

Shardul Thakur on his strategy against SRH (H/T ESPN Cricinfo)

Nonetheless, Thakur recorded his career-best IPL figures of 4 for 34. It also took his IPL wickets tally to 100, having played 97 matches across ten seasons. Meanwhile, against SRH, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran scored the runs to take LSG over the line. 

LSG stars Nicholas Pooran and Shardul Thakur lead Orange Cap and Purple Cap rankings

Lucknow Super Giants claimed their first win of the new 2025 IPL season, defeating a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets. Nicholas Pooran and Shardul Thakur were the top-performers of the match, with the latter being named Man of the Match. 

Shardul Thakur and Nicholas Pooran
LSG stars Shardul Thakur and Nicholas Pooran (via NDTV Sports)

Shardul Thakur stole the show with his four-wicket haul against SRH. He now leads the list of wicket-takers with six scalps in two matches, and is the current Purple Cap holder. Meanwhile, LSG star Nicholas Pooran leads the Orange Cap leader board, with two consecutive half-centuries. The 29-year-old has scored 145 runs at an average of 72.50 and a strike rate of 258.93, hitting 13 sixes and 12 fours. 

Meanwhile, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant, who was the most expensive buy at the 2025 IPL Mega Auction, continued with his poor streak. He is yet to hit the deck, having managed to score a duck and only 15 runs, in the first two matches of the season.