SA vs IND: Shardul Thakur keen on replicating Australia and England show yet again

Fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur marked his place in India’s XI in their squad for the first Test match against South Africa. As India’s mainstream all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is away from the series, Thakur’s chances strengthened to land on the playing side and this is why he wishes to make the best use of his opportunity.

Thakur recently opened up on how he wishes to replicate his Australia and England show in South Africa as well. It has to be noted that the Mumbai batter marked his Test debut in 2018 and played his second Test against Australia in early 2021 only. Making full use of the opportunity in India’s depleted side, he marked a brilliant contribution with both bat and ball to help the team breach the Gabba fortress. He took seven wickets in the game and scored 67 runs.

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Everything is about confidence and self-belief for me: Shardul Thakur

The 30-year-old flaunted his show against England too where he picked three wickets and scored two half-centuries in Oval. He also believes that self-belief and confidence is everything and these factors help him in executing his plans successfully.

“I do like to plan my game in terms of both bowling and batting. When I enter the ground, everything is about confidence and self-belief for me. If you are playing white-ball cricket, you think of yorker. So, to bowl that yorker, I go in with full confidence which stands out for me as a player,” he added.

Talking of Thakur’s career so far, he has picked 67 wickets and scored 366 runs for India in 43 games across formats. He concluded that he wishes to be that player in the team who makes a winning contribution rather than adding just a number in the playing XI.