Shardul Thakur’s storey has been that of a traditional underdog who has faced all of life’s challenges but has risen through the ranks thanks to his perseverance and hard work.
Shardul Narendra Thakur is an Indian professional cricketer who was born on October 16, 1991, in Palghar, Maharashtra. His position on the team is as a right-arm medium-fast bowler who also bats right-handed. He’s a hit-the-deck bowler with the ability to swing the ball away from right-handed bowlers. In domestic cricket, he is the leading pacer for Mumbai, and he is also a member of the Indian cricket team.
Records
In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, he was the joint highest wicket-taker with 48 wickets.
Awards
In the Nidhas Trophy match against Sri Lanka, he was named Man of the Match.
Career
Domestic
Shardul’s hometown was 87 kilometres from Mumbai, so he had to take one of the notoriously crowded Mumbai-Local trains to get here for practise. When he made six sixes in six balls in school cricket, he drew a lot of attention.
He made his domestic cricket debut against Rajasthan in November 2012. He failed to create an impression on his debut, taking just four wickets at an average of 82.0 in his first four games. At the end of the season, the Mumbai team management requested that he shed some pounds, and since he was dedicated to his profession, he returned fitter. He took 27 wickets at 26.25 in the following season.
In the 2014-15 Ranji season, he stepped up to the plate and finished joint-top with 48 wickets at an average of 20.81 in ten matches. In the same season, he also took five five-wicket hauls.
His outstanding results earned him a place in the India A team, where he will compete in four-day matches against Australia A and South Africa A. Later that year, he was enlisted in the Board President’s XI for a practise match against South Africa, in which he took four wickets. In the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, he maintained his incredible form. He took 8 wickets in the tournament final to help Mumbai secure the trophy.
IPL Career
Thakur was snatched up by Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 IPL auction for a base price of Rs 20 lakhs, owing to his dazzling domestic performances. In the 2015 season, the fearless medium-pace bowler made his debut against the Delhi Daredevils, taking one wicket in his four overs.
When CSK and RR were suspended and a mega-auction took place, Thakur was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants and played under MS Dhoni and Steven Smith’s captaincy. In January 2018, he was purchased in an auction by the Chennai Super Kings, and he returned to play for MS Dhoni.
Thakur appeared in fewer matches for Chennai Super Kings in the 2019 Indian Premier League. He did, however, appear in the final and took two wickets against the Mumbai Indians. Chennai, on the other hand, was unable to win the IPL title in 2019 after Thakur was caught LBW with two runs needed on the final delivery.
International Career
He was called up for India’s tour of the West Indies after a string of outstanding performances in first-class cricket, but he did not get a chance to play any games. Shardul made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Sri Lanka Cricket on August 31, 2017. He has so far appeared in 11 One-Day Internationals and taken 11 wickets.
On February 21, 2018, Shardul Thakur made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for India against South Africa. He was chosen to compete in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy in March 2018. He took a career-best 4-27 in a match against Sri Lanka to turn the game around for India, earning him the Man of the Match trophy. He ended with 6 wickets at an average of 29.33 from 5 matches. Shardul Thakur has played 15 T20 matches and taken 21 wickets at an average of 21 in his brief T20 career.
Thakur is a relative newcomer to international Test cricket, having only played one match thus far in his career. In May 2018, he was called to India’s Test squad for the first time.
While playing in a one-off Test against Afghanistan, he was not selected for the starting XI. However, Thakur made his Test debut against the West Indies in October 2018, making him the 294th player to lead Team India in Tests. Unfortunately, his debut was cut short after just 10 deliveries due to a groyne injury in his right thigh. Thakur has been on the periphery of the Indian Test team since then, as the new Indian pace attack is packed.