Shardul Thakur is a character, no two ways. He has made some important contributions to Indian cricket over the years, particularly in Test matches in Australia and England. But as far as his IPL career is concerned, he has been more of a rolling stone who gathers no moss. To date, he has represented six franchises in the league, and the latest in the list is Mumbai Indians, the city where he lives, the city where he has learnt his craft. Enough of his moving from one franchise to another, though.
In what should be heart-warming to many, MI captain Hardik Pandya has assured Thakur that he is going to play franchise cricket at Mumbai for the rest of his IPL career. Pandya is another character and it takes one to back another.
“I told him [Shardul] this season, enough hopping of franchises. I want you to be here for the rest of your career. He’s a character; he has a big heart. The way he comes out and always tries to outsmart a batter is simply brilliant. Really happy for him,” Pandya said after MI’s win over KKR on Sunday night.
Thakur, on his debut for MI, picked up three wickets at the Wankhede Stadium and ensured the visitors were quite a few runs short. He accounted for the entire top order of KKR — captain Ajinkya Rahane, Finn Allen and Cameron Green.
It was a happy homecoming for Thakur, who was with the Mumbai franchise as a net bowler for three years from 2010-12. Before joining MI, he was with Lucknow Super Giants. Delhi Capitals, KKR, Rising Pune Supergiant, Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings have also had him in their ranks at some point. It’s not only Pandya’s; it’s his wish too that he finishes his IPL career at MI.
“I’ll be very happy if I stay here, it’s my home city. The kind of backing I had coming here was amazing, thank you to the MI family for backing me, trading me from LSG, and straightaway awarding me right from the first game,” he said after picking up the Man-of-the-Match award.
“To play for MI is special. I was a net bowler as an up-and-coming boy. I have been with the team in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons, quietly bowling here, making my mark. Since then, it was always going to happen. It’s finally happened that I’m in Mumbai Indians playing for my home team. It feels special.”
