Shardul Thakur says Mumbai lacked application after Vijay Hazare Trophy loss to Punjab

After Mumbai went down to Punjab in a thriller, a visibly upset Shardul Thakur admitted that the players should have applied themselves better.

Chasing a small total, Mumbai was cruising at one point in time before it choked and ended up losing by one run, and the team’s regular captain, Shardul, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a calf injury, said that in cricket, things shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“Someone told me that cricket is the only game that you can relate to your life. It shows that not all days are the same, and also, you shouldn’t take your game lightly. Once you are in there, you need to make sure that you do whatever is required for the team to cross the line, and that’s where we missed our chances today,” Shardul told Sportstar.

“Better application and better plans would have easily given us the game. If you see, we batted for just 25 overs and wasted the remaining 25 overs. So I don’t see any reason for getting all out in such a low total,” Shardul said, pointing out the fact that Mumbai’s innings folded up in just 26.2 overs.

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In the quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Mumbai will take on Karnataka, under the leadership of Siddhesh Lad. And, with the absence of the Indian internationals, the focus will be on the youngsters.

“In the knockouts, losing a lot of experienced players will give a chance to the youngsters to showcase their talent. Quite a few youngsters have performed well in their respective age group categories, so it will also be the test of their character,” he said, adding, “Playing for Mumbai is not easy. There’s always huge pressure, and there’s also a pressure of performing.”

Published on Jan 08, 2026