Shardul Thakur's no-holds-barred attack on commentators for over-criticising bowlers: ‘They should look at their own…’

Lucknow Super Giants seamer Shardul Thakur lashed out at the commentators for their overcritical remarks on the bowlers. Shardul, who went unsold in the IPL mega auction, has been a pivotal part of the LSG bowling attack after joining them as a replacement for Mohsin Khan. The 33-year-old has claimed 11 wickets in 6 matches and is currently placed at the second spot in the Purple Cap race behind Noor Ahmad (12). Shardul Thakur has claimed 11 wickets so far in IPL 2025.(ANI)

He claimed a couple of wickets in the win against Gujarat Titans at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. After the match, Thakur addressed the media, hitting back at commentators for going hard on bowlers without understanding how cricket is moving in a direction where 200-plus scores are becoming quite common.

"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. And like you said, criticism will always be there — especially from commentators," Thakur said in the press conference.

The 33-year-old didn't hold back and said that the commentators would look at their own stats before criticising anyone.

"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," he added.

“Credit to us that we’ve defended scores on two occasions”: Shardul

With the win over Shubman Gill and Co., LSG are currently placed in the third spot with four wins in six matches. Despite the absence of an overseas bowler in the line-up, they have managed to defend titles on a couple of occasions.

Shardul also talked about the same and suggested while defending the totals it's crucial to hold the nerves till the end.

“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. So it was about holding our nerve till the end and believing in ourselves that we could win the game, provided we got an important wicket or bowled a key over,” he added.

Click here to read article