With the duo of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur back on the bench, the Mumbai Indians returned to winning ways in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, beating the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 99 runs on Monday. Shardul and Chahar’s exclusion paved the way for MI to add Ashwani Kumar and Krish Bhagat to the line-up. Ashwani emerged as the top wicket-taker for MI in the match, picking up 4 scalps for just 24 runs in Ahmedabad, while Bhagat only gave away 10 runs in 2 overs. Seeing Mumbai taste victory again, former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has urged Shardul and Chahar “to not come out again.”
Srikkanth, who is known for his unfiltered opinions on cricketing topics, had earlier told the MI management to give Shardul and Chahar their money and send them home. As MI benched the duo, the 1983 World Cup-winner was delighted to see the team emerging triumphant again.
“Thank God, they sent both Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar to the shed,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“At this point, I’m sure MI would be telling them, ‘You both just go take your seats in the shed and do not come out again’,” he added, underlining his point with characteristic wit.
MI made quite a lot of changes in the way they approach a game, including using Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay. The marquee pacer rewarded the team instantly with the wicket of Sai Sudharsan on the first ball of the innings.
Srikkanth was delighted to see the discipline the Mumbai Indians bowlers showed in the game.
“Just take a look at the lengths they bowled at, sheer Test match level discipline,” he said, highlighting how the youngsters stepped up in a crucial game.
The job, however, is far from over for MI, with the team still placed in the bottom half of the points table. Just 2 wins in 6 matches see Mumbai at the 7th spot. The Hardik Pandya-led side still has plenty to improve on if they are to finish in one of the playoff spots.
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