「審査前に統計を確認してください」：Shardul Talk Sharing Assault

Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Shardul Thakur expressed his frustration with commentators for criticising players without understanding the challenges faced on the field. Despite being unsold initially in the IPL 2025 mega auction, Thakur joined LSG as a replacement for injured fast bowler Mohsin Khan and has become the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, leading among seamers.

Strong performance against GT

Thakur played a crucial role in LSG’s six-wicket win over Gujarat Titans at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. He secured the wickets of Sherfane Rutherford and Rahul Tewatia, finishing with impressive figures of 4-0-34-2. Reflecting on the match and the broader criticism of bowlers, Thakur said, “I’ve always believed that, as a bowling unit, we’ve bowled well throughout the season. A lot of times in commentary, there’s criticism — they try to be hard on the bowlers. But you have to understand that cricket is moving in a certain direction where 200+ scores are becoming more common.”

Responding to criticism

Thakur emphasised the achievements of the LSG bowling unit, showing their ability to defend scores in challenging conditions. “Credit to us that we’ve defended scores on two occasions when we batted first. We put up a good score, the pitch became better for batting, and even with drastic changes, we managed to defend — one game by 10 runs, one by 4 runs in Kolkata,” he stated.

Addressing the commentary on bowlers, he said, “Criticism will always be there — especially from commentators. It’s easy to sit in a studio and comment on someone’s bowling, but they don’t see the real picture out there on the ground. I’m sure they should look at their own stats before criticising anyone.”

Current standings and next match

With 11 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 10.38, Shardul Thakur has demonstrated his value to LSG. Their victory over Gujarat Titans has propelled LSG to third place on the points table, with four wins in six games. LSG’s next match is set against Chennai Super Kings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, April 14.