He might have found wanting during the recently held white-ball series in New Zealand, but Shardul Thakur has already left the disappointment behind and is passionately working towards helping India win the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in Australia later this year.
See Also: Rathour says India has identified core group of players for T20 World Cup
“Certainly I have my eyes on World Cup. The positivity that I bring into the game and the amount of confidence I have, the way I am passionate about the game will help the team to win the World Cup or at least do the job fairly,” he told reporters in Mumbai.
Shardul, who has claimed 21 wickets in 15 T20Is thus far, said plying trade in the IPL is important and he will look to take forward the momentum he gains in the T20 league, starting March 29.
“Definitely, the IPL is important and the momentum we gain from the IPL will be crucial going forward. There is the Sri Lanka T20s coming up and we are going to Zimbabwe after IPL. Then we are playing Asia Cup going into T20 World Cup.
“So whatever momentum we gain from IPL will be important and will be crucial going ahead. We just need to carry (it) forward in the tournaments after IPL,” Thakur, who will play for Chennai Super Kings, quoted as saying by PTI.
Shardul, who proved quite expensive during the ODI series against New Zealand in which India coped a rare 3-0 whitewash, said he would take the hammering as a learning experience.
“I will study my mistakes and consider them as learning experiences. It was only my first trip to New Zealand and as compared to the other players, I have not played as many games for India.
“Currently, I am just into that phase where I am gaining experience and going forward, I will try to produce greater contributions for the team’s cause,” he added.
The 28-year-old Shardul said he always looks to concede less runs after an expensive over.
“It is okay to go for runs, not every time you will end up bowling extraordinary. I think that way if I am going to go for 20 runs in this over, then how can I cut it down to 16, 14 or 15 (as) in the end (it) will make difference of 5-6 runs.
“(If) we are defending (then) in the last over the team will have 16 runs instead of 10 runs. Or if we are bowling first, we will have to score those many less runs. That’s what I keep telling myself.
“You just have to keep your head high and keep trying and executing things,” he said.
Shardul Thakur has won India games with his batting lately and thus he also opened about his secondary skill.
“I always believed that I could bat and make useful contributions for the team. Whenever I played for my school, college or domestic team, the role never changes. If I am playing international cricket, my role remains the same.
“Whenever I am batting at 9/8/7, I can get an opportunity, I have to just go out there, read the situation, play accordingly and score as many runs I can,” he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
