Shardul Thakur concedes worst bowling figures in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, after going unsold in IPL auction

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 Check Full Coverage

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.

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