He isn’t the most popular cricketer in any team he has represented. From travelling in Mumbai local trains to silently coping a lot of criticism for a poor start to his International career, Shardul Thakur has shown that the only thing that matters for him is the state of nirvana he hopes to achieve with his on-field performances.
The last few matches for India has aided him in this quest. After a forgettable start to his career, Thakur, who was backed yet again by the selectors, is finally starting to show why he can be a good pick in the limited-overs sides, especially with someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar absent. A look at his past few performances.
Vs West Indies – Cuttack 2019
In the ODI series decider against West Indies, Thakur was a tad expensive with the ball although he did manage to dismiss Nicholas Pooran who was on the rampage against the Indian bowlers. However, he made an impact with the bat. With India’s run-chase appearing tough after Virat Kohli’s dismissal, Thakur joined Ravindra Jadeja in the middle and blasted a six and two fours in no time to race to 17 off 6 balls, thus shortening the required run-rate to bring India back into the game. The mini cameo was decisive in India’s eventual match and subsequent series win.
Vs Sri Lanka – Indore 2020
In the second T20I against Sri Lanka at Indore, Thakur once again stepped up, this time with the ball. He sent down four overs for just 23 runs, but importantly showed his death bowling skills, something that had gone missing since his noticeable stint at Rising Pune Supergiant. Thakur mixed his pace and bowled a three-run death over, also picking up three wickets in one over in the process. He ended with figures of 4-0-23-3.
Vs Sri Lanka – Pune 2020
A Man of the Match performance on Friday further reinstated the belief that Shardul Thakur had finally arrived in India colours. The lower-order batsman in him was once again on fire, slamming 22 runs in eight balls including a six apiece off Lasith Malinga and Lahiru Kumara. With India looking for some final impetus, Thakur was outstanding in his execution. He returned with the ball to scalp the wicket of the dangerous Avishka Fernando and then added the wicket of Dasun Shanaka to finish with 3-0-19-2 and win the Man of the Match award.