The understated importance of Shardul Thakur
Be it with the bat or ball, the all-rounder’s utility once again came to the fore in the final ODI win against New Zealand at Indore to seal a 3-0 series sweep
There are backups and then there is Shardul Thakur. He will never be a certainty, and that’s because he neither has disconcerting pace and swing nor is his batting needed on most days. But the exceptions point to why only Thakur can do Thakur things. Overshadowed by the heroic batting of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill in that Gabba win are a neat match haul of 7/155 and that first-innings 67, the best among all batters.
Cut to the Oval win later in 2021, and India would have been all over the place had it not been for Thakur’s counterattacking 36-ball 57, again the highest individual score in that first innings of 191. #LordThakur was trending on social media when, with the old ball, he removed Rory Burns and Joe Root to put an end to England’s hopes.
Thakur’s white-ball numbers are less flattering. Only last IPL did he finish with 15 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 9.79, his worst since the 2017 edition. The ODI economy is 6.22 but get this — he has gone wicketless in only six out of 34 innings. That, and the laudable strike rate of 30.5, means Thakur will always get you wickets even if he goes for runs. Yet, India seem to pick and drop him on a whim. Despite not getting Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar for the Sri Lanka series, India didn’t consider adding Thakur.
But in two out of three ODIs during this New Zealand tour, when India were in desperate need of wickets, Thakur stood up to be counted. Wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham in the same over in Indore was what the doctor ordered when it seemed New Zealand were getting a grip of an arduous chase.
During the first ODI in Hyderabad, when Michael Bracewell looked primed to smoke 20 runs in the last over, Thakur kept calm and dismissed him despite being whacked for a first-ball six. Even when you don’t take into account Thakur’s cameo that pushed India’s total towards 400, it’s hard to believe a player like him misses the cut this frequently.
With India set to host the World Cup, there is always a temptation to pack the batting till at least No 8. Question is, whether India want to tread that path. “It is going to be challenging for us.. to get a No 8, No 9 who can bat,” India captain Rohit Sharma said after the Indore ODI on Tuesday. “His (Thakur's) ability with the bat can give us the edge at No 8. But if you have seven good batters who can do the job for us—no matter what the situation is, then you can look at your playing combination as well.”
Helping Thakur’s case, of course, is the ability to break partnerships in the middle overs. “He has the knack of taking wickets at crucial times for us,” said Sharma. “We have seen it, not just in ODI cricket but also in Tests. There are so many instances that I remember there is a partnership building and he came in and got us through. We know where we stand as a team, what he brings to us is very critical. I just hope that he keeps putting up performances like this. It will only do good for the team.
“He is very smart, he has played a lot of domestic cricket, he has come through the ranks and understands what needs to be done. In this format you need to use your skill and Shardul definitely has some skills. He has a good knuckleball; he bowled it to Tom Latham today, that was nicely planned in the middle by a few players and I was not included in that (laughs). It was Virat, Hardik and Shardul; so, it was a good plan. At the end of the day, if a plan works for the team, we all are happy.”
Plans work on some days, some days they don’t. On most days, it’s a given that Thakur will go for runs. He can live with that as long as the wickets come. “(At) some point, they’re going to come after you,” Thakur said after getting the Player-of-the-Match award for his 3/45 and a 17-ball 25. “But when they come after you, it’s important to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of yourself. At that point, I was just telling myself “okay, what needs to be done, I will go and execute the same ball”.
It’s this pragmatism that sets Thakur apart when nothing seems to go in his favour on most counts. Andas long as India know how to use it to their advantage, Thakur will keep finding ways to contribute.
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