IPL 2025, SRH vs LSG | Shardul Thakur calls for fair pitches

Shardul Thakur shines with four-wicket haul in IPL, emphasizes need for fair pitches for balance between bat and ball.

After setting the IPL ablaze with a four-wicket haul in Lucknow Super Giants’ five-wicket win, seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur stressed on the need for fair pitches in the competition to provide balance between bat and ball.

The 33-year-old walked away with the Player of the Match award after his figures of 4 for 34 helped restrict SRH to 190/9.

“I feel bowlers get very little on this kind of pitches,” Shardul said at the post-match presentation,” Shardul Thakur said.

“Even in the last game pre-match, I said that pitches should be prepared in such a way that the game hangs in the balance for batters and bowlers. Especially after the impact player rule, it’s not fair on the bowlers if a team scores 240-250 runs,” he added.

Shardul went unsold at the auction and joined LSG only after Mohsin Khan was ruled out due to an injury.

“I had made my plans. I had signed for County Cricket if I wasn’t picked for IPL. While playing Ranji, I got a call from Zaheer Khan that we are looking at you as a potential replacement, so don’t switch yourself off. If we get you, we’ll need you to start. That was the day I got back in the IPL zone. Ups and downs keep happening. That was a bad day when I wasn’t picked in the auction,” he said.

Shardul took the wickets of Abhishek Sharma (6) and Ishan Kishan (0) i consecutive balls in his opening spell.