When Shardul Thakur decided not to share Shastri’s advice with Ashwin, Vihari

Mumbai cricketer Shardul Thakur played one of the most vital innings in the Gabba Test and also went on to bowl a brilliant spell, both of which were instrumental in India winning the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. However, during the third Test, Shardul was carrying out drinks for the players along with key messages from head coach Ravi Shastri.

In a recent interaction, Ravichandran Ashwin and fielding coach R Sridhar explained what Shardul did while passing on the messages and the story is quite hilarious. According to Sridhar, Shastri took Shardul aside and told him all the things he needed to go and tell Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, were batting out to save the Test.

Recalling the incident, Sridhar said:

“Ravi Shastri had a clear message. He called Shardul Thakur (and said) ‘Shardul, come here and tell them that I told this specifically.’ He (Shardul) was almost shivering. He said ‘ What should I say, sir?’ ‘Tell Ash, that I told him’, Shastri replied.  

Ashwin added to Sridhar’s story saying,

“Shastri said, ‘Ashwin should take care of this end, and Vihari should bat from the other end. Ashwin is the best batsman against Nathan Lyon in this entire team. So he should bat from this end. He has a huge stride which helps him negate spin so well. Vihari is managing Starc and Cummins really well, getting underneath those bouncers. So ask them to continue’.”

The fast-bowler heard all the messages that were given to him to pass on, and then went out with drinks on the field. Ashwin then revealed what happened once Thakur had reached them. Instead of giving any of the instructions from Shastri, he decided to tell Ashwin and Vihari that they should just keep batting the way they are.

“Then out came Shardul, running out from the dressing room. He was catching his breath when he reached us. We were like: ‘Just say it man’, while drinking water. Shardul said: ‘They told me so many things from the dressing room’. Yes, please tell, (I said). ‘But I am not going to say any of it,” Shardul replied. “You guys are doing a great job. So please continue”.

As it turned out, the two batters batted for more than 40 overs to save the Test, which eventually ended in a draw. On the back of the draw, India went onto win the final Test and the series 2-1.

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