Devoid of options amid the carnage unleashed by Sunrisers Hyderabad batters at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday night, the Mumbai Indians brought in an additional bowler in the second innings. Shardul Thakur was introduced as an Impact Player, but he did not bowl a single over in a match where Mumbai succumbed to their sixth defeat of the season, remaining ninth in the points table. The situation became even more bizarre when MI’s batting coach, Kieron Pollard, admitted he had no clarity on the decision during the post-match press conference.
It was right after the powerplay that Mumbai introduced Shardul as the Impact Sub. That meant they sought his bowling services after the SRH opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had already bludgeoned 92 runs in the first six overs to lay the perfect platform for the chase of 244. Yet, across the 18.4 overs of the second innings — exactly what the visitors needed to complete the chase — Shardul did not bowl a single over.
Mumbai were ridiculed for the move, which came in the wake of a poor collective bowling performance from the five-time champions, but even the management did not have an answer.
When Pollard was asked about it during the press conference in Mumbai after the six-wicket loss, he admitted he had no explanation and would seek clarity after returning to the dressing room.
{{/usCountry}}When Pollard was asked about it during the press conference in Mumbai after the six-wicket loss, he admitted he had no explanation and would seek clarity after returning to the dressing room.
{{/usCountry}}"About why we didn't have Shardul bowl a single over... I will go back and ask. Then again, if he had given away 20 runs in an over, it would have been a totally different conversation," he said.
This situation further amplifies the crisis within the Mumbai Indians set-up. Shardul was brought in as an Impact Sub after due deliberation in the dugout, but it is unlikely that captain Hardik Pandya simply forgot he had an additional bowler at his disposal — especially on a night when every bowler was taken apart. It is more plausible that the team management did not trust Shardul in those conditions, potentially highlighting differences in approach within the think tank.
‘Only god can tell us why...’
Even former cricketers Murali Kartik and Virender Sehwag could not make sense of the move when discussing it on Cricbuzz.
“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,” the former India spinner said.
Sehwag added that Shardul is a wicket-taking bowler and should have been given at least an over, especially after being introduced as an Impact Player.
“If you have brought him on as an impact sub, then he should have bowled at least one over. He is a wicket-taking bowler. He could have got a wicket somehow, so they should have definitely tried,” he said. “Only Hardik Pandya can tell us why Shardul Thakur wasn’t bowled because, since he has come, he always takes a wicket no matter how much he gets hit."
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, on the other hand, wondered if it was the first time an Impact Player was introduced and not used in an IPL game.
“Has it ever happened that a team brought in an Impact Substitute as a bowler and didn’t get him to bowl even a single over? It happened with Shardul tonight,” he wrote on social media.