Shardul Thakur expresses disappointment over ‘stupid’ NRR rule after Mumbai crashes out of SMAT 2025-26

After defending champion Mumbai crashed out of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy despite winning two out of its three games in the Super League, captain Shardul Thakur expressed his disappointment over the Net Run Rate (NRR) rule in the tournament.

According to the rules of the tournament, the NRR was counted from scratch for the Super League. And, after three Super League games, if multiple teams were on equal points, then instead of looking at the head-to-head figures, the NRR was taken into consideration.

That hurt teams like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Andhra. Hyderabad registered convincing victories against Mumbai and Rajasthan in the Super League and looked all set for a berth in the final. Enjoying a superior NRR of + 2.999, Hyderabad just had to beat Haryana to sail through. However, as it slumped to a 124-run defeat against Haryana in the final Super League game, Hyderabad’s hopes went up in the smoke.

Similarly, Andhra crashed out despite winning two of its three games, and also defeating Jharkhand in the last game. According to the Andhra camp, they were under the impression that to qualify, they had to restrict Jharkhand to 173 and better its NRR. So, once that did not happen, the players looked jaded, only to later realise that they had to restrict Jharkhand to 186. There is a theory that had the players known that there’s chance till 186, they would have planned accordingly and tried to ensure that Jharkhand did not cross that mark.

Report | Jharkhand reaches maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final despite loss to Andhra

With no clarity, there was a bit of confusion.

Similarly, Mumbai had to chase down Rajasthan’s 216 for 4 in 10.2 overs, in order to better its NRR and stay in the hunt. But that did not happen as it could reach home only with 11 balls to spare, and after crashing out, Shardul pointed out that it’s important to reconsider the existing rule, and ensure that the NRR’s aren’t calculated from the scratch in the Super League.

“It wasn’t a disappointing campaign for us at all because we have played very good cricket in the whole tournament and we have just dropped two games. (As) Hyderabad (lost), it was because of that stupid rule of revising NRR again in the Super League,” Shardul told  Sportstar.

He pointed out that Mumbai lost only two games in the whole tournament, whereas Hyderabad lost three. Similarly, Haryana lost two games in the group stage, and one in the Super League, but still managed to qualify.

“Before reaching the finals, you cannot revise the NRR rule again. It’s like playing two different tournaments. There is no point having two separate NRRs in the group stage and the Super League stage, because in such case, no matter how many games you win, you could still go out of the tournament. And that happened. So, it’s really unfair on the teams that are doing well,” Shardul said.

“It definitely needs to be thought of, and I feel that the NRR should be uniform from Game one until the end of the Super League to give the teams a level-playing field,” he added.

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The Mumbai captain also wants to give this suggestion to the BCCI if and when the Captains’ Conclave is held after the season.

Mumbai will travel to Jaipur on December 21 for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. While Rohit Sharma is expected to join the side for the tournament, Shardul believes that a bit of fine-tuning is needed as the team switches format again.

“We are playing good cricket, but there needs to be a bit of fine tuning and the coach has spoken to the boys. He has made them understand what needs to be done, and where the improvements are supposed to happen on an individual level. At the end of the day, we also need to respect what are the team plans as a batting unit, as a bowling unit and collectively also we need to field better,” he said.

“Fielding is something which is totally in your hands and one should always look to do well in fielding because sometimes that can make a difference in white ball cricket. If you drop someone’s catch at a crucial juncture and he scores a brilliant 100 or 50, that can literally take the game away from you. It’s not like a Test match, where you have got five days to make a comeback. We saw how important dropping catches mean in a tournament.”

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal was rushed to a local hospital due to severe stomach cramps. Investigations revealed that the young batter was suffering from acute gastroenteritis, and doctors advised him to rest. So, with not much time left for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, question remains on whether he would be available for the tournament.

Published on Dec 17, 2025