Rohit Sharma meets Sanjiv Goenka after Mumbai Indians lose to Lucknow Super Giants for 3rd loss: 'Sir, why worry when…'
Shardul Thakur's excellent 19th over in the match against Mumbai Indians earned praise from Rohit Sharma after the game.
After originally failing to convince any of the ten IPL teams to purchase him at the mega-auction, Shardul Thakur has provided a fiery response since being drafted in as an injury replacement for Lucknow Super Giants. His performance came to the fore as he delivered an inch-perfect 19th over to swing the momentum in his team’s favour in the defence against Mumbai Indians.
Shardul is the senior-most member of the LSG bowling unit, and got his flowers from his Mumbai and national teammate Rohit Sharma. LSG social media cameras captured the Indian captain saying to LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka post-match: “Sir, why worry, when you have Lord?”
Shardul Thakur is affectionately known by many as Lord, a play on his last name, as well as a nod to his tendency to take crucial wickets for every team he plays for. Against MI, Shardul contributed 5*(2) with the bat, before returning to take the early wicket of the dangerous Ryan Rickelton.
Rohit, meanwhile, sat out of this game against LSG, with captain Hardik Pandya stating he had suffered a blow to his knee in training after a tough start to the IPL season.
Shardul's impressive start to IPL 2025 season
Shardul finished with figures of 1-40 against MI, but his most important contribution was in the 19th over. With MI needing 29 off the last two, he ensured that neither Tilak Varma nor Hardik Pandya could get him away. He didn’t concede a single boundary in that penultimate over, setting LSG up for a 12-run victory that took them up to 4 points in four games.
After originally going unsold at the auction and committing to play for Essex in the English County Championship, Thakur was approached by LSG to replace the injured Mohsin Khan. Shardul had stated to the Essex management that he would pull out of their deal if an offer to participate in the IPL came along, and has since played a significant role for LSG.
On the season so far, Shardul now has 7 wickets, sitting at fourth in the Purple Cap race after this game, and only two scalps behind Noor Ahmad in the lead. LSG’s bowling department has received a boost with the return of Avesh Khan and Akash Deep from injury in recent matches, and they are now awaiting the return of highly-touted youngster Mayank Yadav.
