Mumbai Indians (MI) endured another loss in the ongoing IPL 2026, failing to defend a mammoth total of 243 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 29, Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. During the second innings, Shardul Thakur was introduced as an Impact sub but surprisingly was not given a single over, which limited MI's bowling options against Heinrich Klassen's attacking innings of unbeaten 65 off 35 balls.
Murali Kartik takes cheeky dig at MI
In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Murali Kartik took a cheeky dig at Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians team management for not banking on Shardul Thakur's wicket taking ability in their clash against SRH, maybe they forgot about the options available in front of them.
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"I don't understand it at all, why did they even bring him in? Maybe they forgot about him. Only god can tell us why this was done, or Hardik Pandya. So far, he has played five matches, and he did not pick a wicket in only one match. He took 3 wickets against KKR as well," Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz.
Shardul Thakur's performance in IPL 2026
In six outings, the right-handed medium pacer has managed to clinch only six wickets at an economy rate of 9.50 and bowling average of 31.67, despite scalping three wickets in MI's season opener against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Overall, the former CSK star has managed to pick 113 wickets in 112 IPL appearances at an economy rate of 9.57, with his best bowling figures of 4/34 came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2025 edition.
Mumbai Indians' disappointing form in IPL 2026
Mumbai Indians kicked off the season with a great note, securing a commanding win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their season opener, but things took a sharp turn afterwards. After eight games, the Hardik Pandya-led side secured only two wins. The Mumbai-based franchise sit at ninth place with just four points in hand at a net run rate of -0.784.