India all- rounder Shardul Thakur is all set to be a part of Indian Premier League season 18 after going unsold at the mega auction with the Mumbai player coming in as injury replacement for pacer Mohsin Khan at Lucknow Super Giants. (LSG) Thakur who has played for Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Pune Super Giants will be travelling with the team to Visakhapatnam for their season opener against Delhi Capitals with the formal announcement to be made soon.
Mohsin has been sidelined with an ACL injury, which ruled him out of cricket for the past three months. His comeback attempt was further hampered by a calf strain suffered during LSG’s training sessions. With multiple pacers still recovering at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE), the franchise was forced to seek an injury replacement.
LSG’s fast-bowling resources has been hit hard before the start of the season with key seamers like Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, and Mayank Yadav yet to join the squad. While Akash Deep and Mayank are recovering at the CoE, Avesh is still regaining full fitness after a knee injury. Mayank, who has been plagued by multiple injury setbacks since October last year, has resumed bowling at reduced intensity but remains far from match-ready.
With uncertainty surrounding their pace attack, LSG mentor Zaheer Khan acknowledged the challenges but emphasized adaptability. “The situation is dynamic for some of our players due to injuries. Some are at the National Cricket Academy, while others are working with their physios. Right now, it will not be right to say anything. The situation will be dynamic this season,” Zaheer stated in a media interaction.
