'He told me that you may be...' - Shardul Thakur reveals a call with Zaheer Khan after going unsold in IPL 2025 mega auction

Star pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) produced a match-winning performance in the recent IPL 2025 game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has been in brilliant bowling form in the first two games he has played so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).

In the last game against SRH, he scalped 4 wickets at 34 runs in his 4 overs, winning the ‘Player of the Match’ award for this brilliant performance. Earlier in LSG’s campaign opener against DC, Shardul scalped 2 wickets; at the moment, he is also the leading wicket-taker, with the purple cap in the tournament’s current edition.

Notably, the star all-rounder went unsold during the IPL 2025 mega-auction; meanwhile, he also recalled how the instances unfolded after he went unsold. Shardul also spoke about the call he received from the LSG mentor Zaheer Khan for him to play as a replacement. 

“Honestly, no, but I had made my plans. I also planned to play county cricket if I was not picked in the IPL. Zaheer Khan had called me when I was playing in the Ranji Trophy, and he told me that you may be called in as a potential replacement, so don't switch yourself off. If you are called in as a replacement, you are likely to start,” said Shardul after receiving POTM against SRH on being asked about his plans for IPL 2025.

“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 added later.

"I feel bowlers get very little on this kind of pitches" - Shardul Thakur after LSG's win against SRH

Furthermore, he also expressed his feelings after LSG’s 5-wicket win against SRH at their home ground in Hyderabad. Shardul also felt that it was one of the rare games where bowlers dominated most of the course of the game.

“Of course, some swing and what we have seen is that Travis Head and Abhishek like to take their chances, so let me take my chances as well,” he said.

“See I feel bowlers get very little on this kind of pitches. 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,” the 33-year-old concluded.