MUMBAI: Even as Team India and it’s fans go ga-ga over Shardul Thakur’s match-defining performance (half-centuries in both the innings and three wickets) which shaped India's famous triumph in the fourth Test against England at the Oval on Monday, former India off-spinner and selector Sarandeep Singh is left with a slight regret.
“If he had played in the World Test Championship final (against New Zealand, at Southampton in June), we would have won an ICC trophy for the first time since 2013. His presence in the line-up would’ve given this team a well-deserved ICC title, which is still missing from its cabinet," Sarandeep tells TOI.
On that occasion, Thakur made the cut in the shortlisted 15, but missed out on a spot in the XI.
"Those conditions were ideal for his type of bowling, and he would have added depth to our batting,” Sarandeep adds.
"He now has a simple piece of advice for the present set of selectors, led by ex-India pacer Chetan Sharma: “Start grooming him for the 2023 ODI World Cup. From now on, consider him as an all-rounder. You need a batsman like him at No 7, and he’s a good fielder too. He must consistently feature in the XI in Tests and ODIs, if not the T20Is."
"I know Hardik (Pandya) is a very good batsman, but his bowling is a concern. You don’t know how long (Mohammed) Shami and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) will last, so Shardul and Siraj must now regularly play alongside (Jasprit) Bumrah, as age is with them, and they can be groomed for the future,” Sharma recommends.
“I’ve always been his biggest fan. I’ve seen him come through the grind of bowling 25-30 overs per innings in first-class cricket for Mumbai. Ladaku cricketer hai (he is a fighting cricketer), with a positive attitude. Even in India, Shardul should be your second pacer after Bumrah, as you need an all-rounder,” he asserts.
Is he the ‘elusive’ seam-bowling allrounder Team India keeps searching for?
“See, if he continues to work on his batting and continues to put the hard yards in his bowling, he can solve India’s problem of finding a dependable all-rounder after Kapil Dev. It’s so good to see the way he batted, and it will build his confidence going forward," veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh tells this paper from Dubai, where he is training with the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the second leg of the league.
"I would like to see him batting at No 8 and scoring runs consistently for Team India, especially in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa, where you can’t play two spinners and someone needs to bowl too as your main fast bowler and bat also as your No. 5 to 7 batsmen. Shardul is pretty capable of doing that at No 8, where he can score runs and win games for the team,” Harbhajan adds.
Many feel that Thakur has become a much-improved cricketer after joining MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but Harbhajan says, “I wouldn’t say that. He has done well for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy for many years. He’s been a dependable player for them. It’s the right time for him to take his game to the next level, and he’s done exactly that.
"I don’t think CSK or any other IPL franchise has done wonders to his game. He’s matured with age and time. He’s always been a very good bowler. More importantly, he’s a fighter. Whenever I’ve seen him in the Ranji Trophy, (I’ve noted) that he likes to fight. He loves to compete, he wants to win each and every game. Whenever I’ve played with him, he wants to be the centre of attraction by doing well with the bat and/or ball. That comes naturally. You can’t inject someone with that quality,” says Harbhajan, who is himself known for his feisty and competitive ways on the field.
Harbhajan has observed Thakur’s ‘don’t give up’ attitude closely.
“As I said, he’s a ‘fighter.’ He’ll continue to give you his best shot ...whether he was hit for a six, four or nothing (the previous ball). He’ll just come out and give his best every time he’ll bowl for you. That’s exactly the kind of person that he is. You need more people like him in the team, who can work for the team’s cause. He’s a great, great team man, who’s ready to bowl and bat in any situation. I’m so proud of him,” gushes the 103-Test veteran.
“I’m so happy to see his progress not just as a pace bowler but as a batsman too. We all knew he could bat, but he’s now showing on a regular basis how well he can bat and score runs when the team needs them the most. Credit to Shardul for stroking those back-to-back fifties from where India could sense that they can win the game.
Sarandeep points out how Thakur’s show mattered this time.
“In 2018, a big reason why we lost the Test series (4-1) to England was because Sam Curran would bail them out regularly after they slipped to say 180-200 for seven. When the tail fires like that, the other team (opposition) gives in mentally. Shardul can do for us what Curran, or Ben Stokes and Chros Woakes do for England. With him walking out after Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, we can convert a potential 280 to 380, which could be the difference between winning and losing," Sarandeep says in praise of Thakur.
"He could give us that edge even if he keeps scoring 30-40 consistently. I love the way Shardul backs his game. When he walked out in the first innings, India were in dire straits. However, he seemed confident about his batting ability and took the pressure off Pant and Jadeja with his amazing counterattack. And his shots weren’t lappas (streaky). They were proper cricketing shots.”
Sarandeep feels that praise for Thakur’s evolution as a batsman must flow to Team India’s coaching staff too.
“Ravi Shastri (head coach) deserves full credit for turning this team into world-beaters in the last four years. The way Shardul and the tail-enders have batted in this series, you need to acknowledge the role of Vikram Rathour (batting coach),” he compliments.
However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who has a fair idea of how the pressure of being dubbed the next ‘Kapil Dev’ can do to you, offers a sane advice: “We’ve to be smart enough to manage him nicely. By that, I mean that we don't put added pressure on him by promoting him from No 8 to No 7. Right now, he’s shown signs of being a good, handy lower-order batsman. He’s a very, very good No. 8 batsman at the highest level," Pathan explains his point.
"In modern-day cricket, it’s not just about No. 7...You need a guy who bats well, a match-winner at No. 8 as well. With a guy like Shardul at that slot, you may not need a top-quality allrounder at No 7. Let him settle in this position, and get better, and then put extra pressure on him. Don’t put high expectations on him, when he may not be yet ready to bat at No. 7. You’ve to be cautious about it. As of now, let things remain as they are and give him more matches at No. 8. Let him grow as a cricketer.”
Basically, Pathan wants people to wait before dubbing him as a specialist allrounder.
“He’s a very good cricketer who contributes regularly for his team. I’ve high expectations from him. There’s a lot to like about him — his bowling action, work ethics. He tries to give it all whenever he plays. He has contributed outstandingly in England so far. He has done more than what people or the team management expected him to do. People have now started to respect him as a cricketer," says Pathan.
"However, don’t jump the gun in calling him an all-rounder or not calling him one. Let’s be patient with him. Just give him some time and space. Let him be a contributor for some time, and we can call him (an all-rounder) when the time comes. Don’t hurry. He’s shown potential. He can add things to his game, but with proper timing and planning,” recommends Pathan.
Identifying some key qualities in Thakur, Pathan says: “He’s a fit cricketer, who’s done well for Mumbai in first-class cricket. Whenever he’s played for India, he’s tried to contribute as much as he can. That’s the kind of a cricketer you want in your team. He might go for some runs, he can blow hot and cold in bowling, which can happen since he’s an aggressive pace bowler who tries to take wickets. He has that mindset.
"I like him. He’s got heaps of experience in first-class cricket before playing for India. It’s not that he’s just an IPL product.”
Thakur’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad, who’s also the childhood coach of Rohit Sharma, says: “Before leaving for Australia last year, he did a couple of sessions with me at the MCA ground in BKC. He changed his bat grip slightly.”
Lad was the coach of Swami Vivekanand school in Borivali, and both Rohit and Thakur played under him for the school.
“After play on Day One, I scolded him for throwing his wicket away by playing a rash stroke. ‘You were playing so well, you could’ve even scored a hundred,’ I told him. He admitted his mistake and said he was double-minded about going for a single or hitting out and that forced him to play a false stroke. However, he told me: ‘If I get a chance in the second innings to bat, I’ll show you. He again missed out on a hundred, but he batted well. It’s just that he got out to a good ball,” said Lad.
“His 57 in the first innings was a match-winning knock, which I told him on Day One. He was very happy. If he hadn’t clicked, we would’ve collapsed. He should’ve got the ‘Man of the Match’ award, which Rohit also agreed to. He scored runs in both the innings and took crucial wickets. His wicket of Rory Burns on the final day, which broke England’s opening partnership, was the turning point of the match," points out the coach.
"110 per cent we’ve found a dependable all-rounder. The temperament that he’s shown in his batting since the last one year wasn’t there earlier. He’s improved his temperament. He was always a good, but aggressive batsman. He didn’t look to stay at the wicket, but just slog his way out. In the last one year, he’s focused on his batting.”.
Back in 2006, Thakur hit the headlines for the first time when he hit six sixes at the LIC plot Cross Maidan for Swami Vivekanand against Radhakrishnan in a Harris Shield (inter-school) game off a left-arm spinner.
“At that time, people told me that he hit those sixes on a small ground. However, I responded by saying that even greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar had played on that ground, but they hadn’t hit six sixes there,” recalls Lad.
“I’m happy that both my boys (Rohit scored a hundred in the game) did well to win India the Oval Test,” concludes Lad.
