Indian pacer Shardul Thakur, who was one of the key performers for India in the fourth Test match of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy, said it's important for him to stay fit and mentally prepared to handle the challenges during a packed 2021 cricket calendar.
Shardul Thakur’s Test career didn't start on a good note as the former sustained injury after just bowling just 10 deliveries on his debut match against West Indies in 2018.
Thakur’s hard work and perseverance were rewarded as he made good use of the opportunity that came his way by putting in an all-around performance in India's big win over Australia in the 4th and final Test of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Thakur's heroics in the fourth Test-match earned him a place in the 18-man squad for the first two Tests of a 4-match series against England, starting February 5 in Chennai.
Team India will begin the home season with the Test and limited-overs series against England following which they will be playing Indian Premier League 2021.
Team India however, is in line to play the World Test Championship final at the Lords and are set to tour Sri Lanka and England later this year. India will also host the T20 World Cup in October-November this year.
Reflecting on the busy roster of Team India this year, Shardul Thakur said that India has a lot to look forward to in 2021 and it would be challenging for Team India to be able to switch between the white ball and red-ball
"If you look at the cricketing calendar of India in 2021, we have a lot coming up. We are playing back to back cricket. There the World Test Championship final coming up at the end of the year we have the T20 World Cup coming up so it's a mixture of both red-ball and white-ball cricket.
With both formats aplenty, it will be a big challenge for Team India to be able to switch between the white ball and red-ball cricket throughout the year," Shardul Thakur told Sports Today.
"Now it's a good time to be hosting England for the 4-match Test series [in February] after just coming back from winning the Australia series. So next when we play England at home, we will have enough confidence from the series win against Australia.
Then again we'll switch to the white ball leg, we'll play ODIs and T20Is against England next before heading on to the IPL [most probably in April]. We would be going to Sri Lanka after that, so there's a lot of cricket to be played over the next few months,” he added.
Shardul Thakur, 29, further said that understands the importance of staying fit and being ready for national duty whenever his services are needed across all formats of the game.
"As a player, there will be challenges that we have to be fit throughout because when you're playing for the country you have to be ready whenever you're asked to play, you have to be on your toes. So staying fit will be one of the biggest challenges and also to perform with that fitness and make sure that we're contributing to the team's win," said Shardul Thakur.
Thakur also remarked that the England series will help them prepare for the impending ICC tournaments.
"To be able to prepare for the high-pressure WTC final. End of the year, the team will play in the T20 World Cup. There will be high-pressure games there as well. So whatever experience we gather during the upcoming games will help us during the Test championship final and the T20 World Cup," he concluded.
(Sports today Inputs)
