Shardul Thakur was first picked up by Punjab Kings, (then Kings XI Punjab), in the 2014 auction prior to the 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League. Making his debut for the Kings he didn’t manage to grab anyone’s attention but the csk management.
He was picked by the CSK side in their arrival year for 2.5 crores and he went on to play 4 seasons for the Men in Yellow picking up 55 wickets in 48 appearances before parting ways with the franchise in 2022.
Shardul Thakur, however, announced his arrival in the game from the very first year in the CSK camp delivering with both the bat and bowl in hand. He managed to entertain equally in national colours whenever he is brought into the side.
However, after being released by the Super Kings in the mega auction of 2021 prior to IPL 2022 Thakur went on to have a dream bid when he bagged a 10.75 crore final bid from the Delhi Capitals to feature him in their squad.
With such a whopping price tag to his name, Shardul didn’t make up for the expectations of his new franchise.
With some teams not having any more spots for overseas inclusions, Shardul Thakur would be a good pick to serve as a lower-order allrounder.
3. Chennai Super Kings
Yes, the Super Kings might recall their old chap back. With Conway, Ali, Theekshana and Bravo being the most probable overseas players featuring in the CSK side there are no chances of playing a Santner or Pretorious to provide some depth to their batting.
Thakur can however add that depth to their lower order and also prove to be handy in middle overs with his slower ball cutters and wide yorkers and can serve as an experienced Indian bowling option.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders
The Knights have been struggling with their 2nd Indian bowling option, with Umesh Yadav speeding in from one end and overseas paceman Cummins and Russel in their side, KKR lack a decent Indian middle overs pacer who can grip the game alongside Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
With Shardul Thakur on their side, KKR can rely on his presence of mind and skilful bowling to pick up a few handy wickets amongst the pressure-building middle overs by the KKR spinners. Equally handy with the bat Thakur can provide more depth and power to the KKR batting as well.
1. Punjab Kings
Punjab’s batting lineup though power packed is short-lived. In the absence of Johnny Bairstow, Rajapaksa and Livingstone might be promoted up the order, the team’s batting comes to an end with the departure of no.5 Jitesh Sharma.
With the big-built Odean Smith or much-hyped Shahrukh Khan, not of much use to the kings the addition of an Indian lower-order slogger like Shardul Thakur might turn out to be handy for the Punjab Kings. Also not with much slower bowling options with the speed gun Rabada and young seamer Arshdeep Singh on their side Shardul Thakur would prove to be great during the middle phase of the game. Therefore indeed he would be a fair pick for the Punjab Kings.
