Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Indian pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur after he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to push South Africa on the back foot in the ongoing second Test at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on Tuesday (January 4).
Shardul started by dismissing Proteas skipper Dean Elgar for 28, which triggered the fall of wickets, removing Keegan Petersen (62), Rassie van der Dussen (1), Temba Bavuma (51), Kyle Verreynne (21), and Marco Jansen (21) to push the hosts on the back foot in the ongoing second Test in Johannesburg.
The 30-year-old further went on to dismiss Lungi Nagdi to return with the impressive figures of 7/61 in 17.5 overs to help Team India bowl out South Africa for 229 in their first innings in the ongoing match.
After Shardul became the sixth Indian bowler to pick a Test fifer in Johannesburg, Gavaskar recalled Shardul's performances in Australia and England to laud the all-rounder for his contribution to the side.
Notably, Shardul was India's top scorer in the Gabba Test with 67 while batting at no. 8. He also snared seven wickets to play a key role in India's historic series win at the Gabba. He also hit half-centuries in both innings at The Oval while batting at 8 to help India beat England by 157 runs last September.
Gavaskar on SuperSport during Day 2 of the ongoing second Test: “When Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were not available to play, he not only got seven wickets but also a half-century to his name. He was one of the chief architects behind India's win at the Gabba. And in England, there were occasions when the Indian team didn't post many runs. He came in and smashed half-centuries in both innings. He's also kept picking two odd wickets in each innings.”
The legendary cricketer further highlighted how Shardul’s efforts on the field, apart from his batting and bowling, make him a player whom any team would want to have at their side.
Gavaskar further explained, “He is just the kind of player you want in your team. He gives his 100 percent. He knows he is not going to always be a certainty and hence, the trying never stops. He understands what he needs to do and gives it all every time without any complaints.”
He signed off by saying, “A batter is facing Shami & Bumrah and he suddenly is up against a bowler (Shardul) who is 5-10 kmph slower. He can think to score some runs but Shardul bowls just around the off-stump and gets the ball to move away. Bavuma was down the pitch even before the ball was released and Shardul smartly bowled is short. He fully deserves his five-wicket haul as he's such a great trier.”
