MS Dhoni might ask for Shardul Thakur’s inclusion in India’s squad: Michael Vaughan

The high-voltage T20 World Cup 2021 is coming closer with each passing day and all the teams would be raring to shine. With the tournament taking place in spin-friendly conditions of UAE and Oman, Team India is touted as one of the favourites. Although the Men in Blue have done well in this format lately, they have some issues to resolve ahead of the competition.

With all-rounder Hardik Pandya not bowling a single over in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, many believe the dasher could hurt the team balance. Several fans and experts have even backed Shardul Thakur, who’ll travel as a reserve, as Pandya’s replacement. The right-arm pacer has done well in IPL’s UAE leg and his batting abilities hurt England bowlers during the Test series in August-September.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan also reckons Shardul can be a great asset in the global event. He even said Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni could perhaps vouch for Shardul’s inclusion. Vaughan’s statement came following Shardul’s outstanding spell against Delhi Capitals, albeit in the losing cause. The pacer took two wickets and conceded mere 13 runs in his quota of four overs.

Hence, Vaughan feels Dhoni, who has been named the team’s mentor, might ask Indian skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri to get Thakur on board. “The mentor of the Indian T20 team (MS Dhoni) is behind the stumps, he’s the captain of CSK and you probably think he’s gonna tell Virat and Shastri ‘you know come on,” Vaughan said in a Cricbuzz video. Vaughan even compared Shardul’s all-round abilities with the legendary Ian Botham, saying the CSK cricketer can ‘make things happen.’

Like Ian Botham, Sharduk Thakur can make things happen: Michael Vaughan

“Thakur is very similar to Ian Botham. He makes things happen with the ball in hand. He did it in the Test series. He’s doing it in the IPL. Shardul has the ability to make things happen. He’s got that deceptive pace. You watch him bow, you think he’s just doing it normally but he’s a very good deception,” Vaughan added.

“He can surprise the batter and obviously the subtle variation that batsmen seem to find it difficult to pick. He’s certainly doing something with the ball that is deceiving the batters,” Vaughan said further.