Shardul Thakur joined the Mumbai Indians for the next season of the Indian Premier League. (PHOTO: Mumbai Indians) 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.…