Shardul Thakur, who recently went unsold in IPL auction, has conceded the worst bowling figures in the history of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Things are going from bad to worse, when it comes to India all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Days after going unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the 33-year-old has now registered the worst bowling figures in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In the match against Kerala at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Shardul conceded 69 runs and took just one wicket.
Shardul Thakur concedes 69 runs in SMAT match against Kerala. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)(PTI10_19_2024_000221B)(PTI)
This is now the joint expensive spell bowled by any bowler in the history of the T20 competition. Just a couple of days back, Ramesh Rahul of Arunachal Pradesh had leaked the same number of runs.
Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Share Via Copy Link Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG
Total Match
111
Total Runs
3284
Highest Score
128 runs
Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS
Total Match
115
Total Runs
3127
Highest Score
96 runs
Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR
Total Match
50
Total Runs
1326
Highest Score
104 runs
Wickets
3
Best Bowling
2/29
Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS
Total Match
65
Total Runs
29
Highest Score
10 runs
Wickets
76
Best Bowling
5/32
Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS
Total Match
260
Total Runs
37
Highest Score
8 runs
Wickets
205
Best Bowling
5/40
Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT
Total Match
107
Total Runs
3582
Highest Score
124 runs
KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC
Total Match
132
Total Runs
4683
Highest Score
132 runs
Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI
Total Match
104
Total Runs
83
Highest Score
17 runs
Wickets
121
Best Bowling
4/18
Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR
Total Match
35
Total Runs
195
Highest Score
27 runs
Wickets
46
Best Bowling
3/15
Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB
Total Match
12
Total Runs
–
Highest Score
–
Wickets
12
Best Bowling
3/24
Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT
Total Match
93
Total Runs
109
Highest Score
14 runs
Wickets
93
Best Bowling
4/21
Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC
Total Match
41
Total Runs
105
Highest Score
29 runs
Wickets
51
Best Bowling
4/15
Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB
Total Match
21
Total Runs
653
Highest Score
89 runs
Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH
Total Match
105
Total Runs
2644
Highest Score
99 runs
Wickets
–
Best Bowling
–
Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB
Total Match
40
Total Runs
730
Highest Score
49 runs
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The previous record was held by Hyderabad’s Pagadala Naidu (1/67) against Mumbai in 2010. Speaking about the match between Kerala and Mumbai, the Sanju Samson-led side won the contest by 43 runs.
Kerala first posted 234/5 in the allotted twenty overs, owing to a 87-run knock by Rohan Kunnummal. Mumbai were then restricted to 191/9 and hence Kerala won the contest quite comprehensively.
Coming back to Shardul Thakur, who is currently making a comeback from an injury, had gone unsold in the recently held IPL mega auction. The premier India all-rounder did not find any takers.
Over the last three years, Shardul’s performance has dipped in the IPL. For CSK, he just played nine games in 2024, picking up just five wickets at an underwhelming average of 61.80 from nine games.
Indian management moves on from Shardul Thakur
Ahead of India’s departure for Australia for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, head coach Gautam Gambhir had revealed that the current management has moved on from Shardul, and hence Nitish Kumar Reddy was picked.
“The decision to pick Reddy (Nitish) ahead of Shardul is also about moving forward,” Gambhir had said.
Soon after, Shardul had emphatically stated that he has not given up on making a comeback into the Indian cricket team.
“I haven’t had any communication yet. I have just returned from surgery, so it’s obvious that’s the reason I am not in the team at the moment,” he told reporters.
“However, my fitness is in great shape now, and since the Australia tour is a long one, opportunities can come anytime. Following that, the England team is also coming to India for white-ball matches, then there’s the Champions Trophy, so there’s a lot of cricket ahead. So, there will surely be chances somewhere down the line,” he added.
Shardul has so far played 11 Tests, 47 ODIs and 25 T20Is for India. He has taken 129 wickets across all formats.
With the bat in hand, he has registered 729 runs across the three formats, with his best score being 67 in a Test match.
