Hyderabad, India

India and Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur conceded 69 runs for one wicket in four overs against Kerala in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), registering an unwanted record to his name. Four days after he remained unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thakur endured an unforgettable outing in India's premier domestic T20 tournament.

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With such dismal figures, Thakur now shares this dubious distinction with Ramesh Raul for the bowler to concede the most runs in this tournament's history.

Meanwhile, Kerala batters made light work of Mumbai bowlers, smashing them for a whopping 234 for five in 20 overs, with batters Salman Nizar (99*) and Rohan Kunnummal (87) leading the scoring charts. Although Thakur accounted for Kerala captain Sanju Samson on a duck in his first over, he conceded nearly 70 runs in his next three overs. 

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Kerala’s attacking play left Mumbai bowlers searching for answers, with all remaining bowlers going over eight runs per over in the first innings. In reply, Mumbai’s innings ended on 191 for nine, losing the game by 43 runs. For the star-studded Mumbai side, veteran Ajinkya Rahane scored the most runs, 68 off 35 balls, including five fours and four sixes, while Prithvi Shaw (23), the skipper Shreyas Iyer (32) and Hardik Tamore (23) contributed little with the bat. For Kerala, MD Nidheesh picked four for 30 in four overs.

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No Shardul in IPL 2025

Shardul was part of Chennai Super Kings squad the last time, winning IPL thrice (2018, 2021 and 2023) with them across two stints (2018-2021 and 2023). Picked as the pace-bowling all-rounder, Thakur featured in nine matches the previous season and 11 in the one before that (for Delhi Capitals), pocketing 12 wickets in 20 games played across two seasons. 

His best season, however, was in 2021, when playing for CSK, Thakur picked 21 wickets in 16 contested matches. In IPL 2022, Thakur played all 14 games, returning with 15 scalps.

Thakur has played 95 matches in the cash-rich league, scoring 307 runs and picking 94 wickets at 9.23. 

(With inputs from agencies)