During the recently held Test series between India and England, Shardul Thakur impressed one and all with his all-round exploits.
Shardul featured in two Tests and returned with 117 runs and seven wickets to his name as the visitors ended the series, which ended prematurely, with a lead of 2-1 after four games.
It was his performance at the Oval that caught everyone’s attention. Thakur scored half-centuries in both the innings (57 and 60) to bail India out of trouble and picked up three crucial wickets in the match, helping the tourists to register an emphatic 157-run victory.
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In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Shardul Thakur reflected on his performance, stating that the process has helped him to score runs and it was not coincidence or luck.
"Lower order-batsman contributing always helps, and there have been many instances where 40-50 runs make a huge difference. When I made my comeback in the Indian team, I practiced with our throw down specialists Raghu and Nuwan – they are very quick. Initially, I wasn’t able to play them. I tried to improve my footwork when I faced them and slowly-slowly my batting improved. The more I played them the more I got adjusted to the pace. Whatever runs I have scored so far, there has been a process that I have followed, it’s not a coincidence or stroke of luck," he said.
Shardul also revealed how MS Dhoni’s one advice turned things around for him.
"There have been people from the Indian team management, Virat, Rohit, who kept on motivating me. They all said that whenever I bat, I should think the way batsman think. Once I was in Mahi bhai’s (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) room and holding his bat. He told me that my batting grip is too high and I need to hold it lower to get better control over the shot. Now I hold my bat there and it helps."
The fifth and final Test between India and England in Manchester was called off at the eleventh hour after a fresh COVID-19 case was reported in the visiting camp.
Assistant physio Yogesh Parmar had tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the Old Trafford Test, which left the Indian players anxious. Earlier, senior physio Nitin Patel had returned positive during the fourth Test alongside head coach Ravi Shastri and two other support staff members.
Speaking about the COVID scare in the Indian dressing room, Thakur said: "We were worried about what will happen, who will be infected since Parmar had treated everyone. We didn’t know how things would go ahead because tracking this infection is next to impossible. The next four-five days were vulnerable for us because there was fear that it could happen to me or it could happen to anyone. Everyone was worried about their and their family’s health."
