There is rarely an occurrence where an impact player ends up having no impact in a game, quite literally. On Wednesday night during the IPL 2026 game between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur was introduced as an impact substitute, but he neither batted nor bowled as MI were condemned to their sixth loss of the season.
Thakur was brought in during the second innings after the end of the PowerPlay, which meant there was no chance for him to bat. However, the Mumbai cricketer also ended up not bowling a single over in a game where SRH chased down 244 in just 18.4 overs.
Former Indian cricketer Murali Kartik said he did not understand the call from MI to not give Thakur even one over after introducing him.
“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,” he said on Cricbuzz.
With a host of changes that saw the likes of Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, and Robin Minz, MI came into the contest desperately eyeing two points. Rickelton slammed a century, helping MI post their highest-ever total at Wankhede Stadium. But against a mighty batting attack comprising Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klaasen, the 244-run target eventually looked dwarfed.
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag argued that Thakur is a wicket-taking bowler and should have been given at least one over if already named as an impact substitute.
“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 on Cricbuzz.
“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 beaten,” he added.
Another former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, asked if this was the first instance where an impact substitute did not get to bat or bowl.
“Has it ever happened that a team got in an Impact Substitute as a bowler and didn’t get him to bowl even a single over? Happened with Shardul tonight,” he wrote on social media.
