Mumbai Indians (MI) have dropped both struggling fast bowlers Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, and the result was underwhelming in their latest IPL 2026 encounter against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, April 20.
After four consecutive defeats, Mumbai Indians have made a spectacular comeback with a massive 99-run win over Gujarat Titans (GT), and much of the credit for this goes to their disciplined bowling attack at the Narendra Modi Stadium. With this win, MI moved up to 7th in the table.
Kris Srikkanth makes fun of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar after Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Titans
After MI’s dominant win over GT in Ahmedabad, Chris Srikkanth has taken a brutal and sarcastic dig at Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar as the franchise has almost found the perfect bowling combination without its senior bowlers in the tournament.
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The 1983 World Cup winner, without holding back on his bold move, suggested that Mumbai Indians should prefer to keep Shardul and Chahar away from the playing eleven rather than risk another expensive spell in the ongoing IPL 2026.
“Thank God, MI sent both of them to the shed. At this point, I’m sure MI would be telling them, ‘You two take your seats in the shed and never come out again,'” Chris Srikkanth said on his Cheeky Cheeka podcast on YouTube.
Clash between Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar in IPL 2026
Shardul Thakur really started his IPL journey with MI on a high note. The all-rounder took 3 wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and won the Player of the Match award. But, in the subsequent matches, Shardul struggled badly with his line and length.
Thakur conceded heavy runs and his economy rate went above 13.5, which became a major concern for the team and eventually he was dropped for the GT clash. Whereas Deepak Chahar’s bowling performance has been even more worrying.
Chahar has failed to take wickets in the powerplay and he was scoring runs like water flowing from the tap. In three matches, he managed to take only one wicket while giving away runs at a very high rate of close to 15 per over, and was also shown the door.
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Ashwini Kumar and Krish Bhagat shine as MI make bold call, Srikkanth lauds
Mumbai Indians replaced Deepak and Shardul Thakur with young fast bowlers Ashwini Kumar and Krish Bhagat and this move paid off against Gujarat Titans. Ashwini bowled brilliantly and took four wickets for 24 runs in her four overs.
Krish, on the other hand, was sent for two overs and gave only 10 runs. Jasprit Bumrah made his performance felt by taking 1/15 in three overs against GT.
Praising the young duo, the former Indian chief selector said, “Just take a look at the length they bowled – absolutely Test match level discipline.”
Srikkanth backs Jasprit Bumrah to continue bowling open for MI
Srikkanth feels that Bumrah’s initial spell gave Mumbai Indians the momentum and then Ashwini took care of the rest. He said, “Giving the first over to Bumrah and him taking the wicket on the very first ball gave MI momentum. That wicket brought the whole energy and atmosphere alive. That is why Bumrah should bowl with the new ball.”
