Hailing from the small town of Palgarh, Maharashtra, Thakur was faced with the oft-mentioned and seldom-addressed problem of traveling nearly a hundred kilometers to Mumbai to pursue his cricketing dreams. From a stereotypical young boy from cricketing backwaters dragging his cricket kit to practice to the most sought-after pace bowler in the Mumbai domestic circuit, Thakur's journey has been one of perseverance and hard work.

In his debut season for Mumbai, his team won the Ranji Trophy (hardly a surprise) but Shardul's personal numbers were fairly underwhelming as he picked up just 4 wickets in as many matches. Nevertheless, Thakur, hardly possessing the build of an athlete at the time, worked on his fitness and honed his skills as he continued to improve in the domestic fold, taking 27 wickets in 6 games in his next season and peaked in the 2013/14 season, taking 48 wickets from 10 games which included an unparalleled five 5-wicket hauls.