Shardul Thakur was all set for a stint with Essex in English county cricket when he went unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
With a base price of Rs 2 crore, Shardul didn't see any paddle go up when his name popped up at the auction.
Now, after a late call-up by Lucknow Super Giants, the seamer has proved everyone wrong with six wickets in two games.
Thakur had played for five different teams prior to the auction but went unsold. However, he was roped in by Lucknow as a late replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan on Sunday.
'See, I feel all these things keep happening in the cricket. It was just one bad day in the auction, I didn't get picked by any of the franchises. But unfortunately, there were a few injuries here and there, and there were a few inquiries about whether I could join the camp,' Thakur told the host broadcaster during the innings break after assisting LSG in restricting SRH to 190/9.
Four days later, he now leads the race for the Purple Cap for most wickets, taking two against Delhi Capitals in their opener before his 4-34 inspired Lucknow to a five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday.
When asked if he thought he would be playing in the IPL this season, player of the match Thakur said: 'Honestly, no but I had made my plans. I also planned to play county cricket if I was not picked in the IPL.
'(Lucknow mentor) Zaheer Khan had called me when I was playing in the (domestic) 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. Ups and downs are a part of life. I have always backed my skills.'
'I was in NCA when Rishabh Pant got to know that Mohsin Khan is unavailable. The very next day he called me to LSG Camp as replacement of Mohsin. All thanks to him for showing trust in me,' he added.
In a tournament where batting-friendly pitches have been the norm after several teams comfortably scored more than 200 runs, Thakur said the pitches needed to be more balanced so bowlers could also thrive.
Against Hyderabad, Thakur ripped through the top order to cheaply dismiss Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, who scored a hundred in the previous game but fell for a first-ball duck to the seamer.
'Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma take their chances, so I decided to take my chances against them.'
© 2025