One is never sure about, if Shardul Thakur fits in the Indian setup. Or at least, that is how the selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar might think. But then, what he is currently doing in the Ranji Trophy clash between Mumbai and J&K, is only a reminder of, what he had already done for India in Tests. In this encounter, Shardul not only smashed a 50 in the first innings, to take Mumbai’s total to 120, then came up with two wickets to dismiss them for 206.
Unlucky Shardul Thakur
But his job was only half done by then. In the second innings, when Mumbai were again reeling at 101/7, with a total lead of 10-15 runs, he strung a partnership of unbeaten 173 runs with Tanush Kotian, smashed a century, and took the overall lead to 188. But this is nothing new for Shardul Thakur, who has 31 wickets in 11 Tests, and has scored 331 runs, including four fifties.
At Gabba, in 2020 vs AUS, he scored 67 from 115 deliveries when India were under the pump at 186/6. Then at the WTC final in 2023 vs AUS, when India were at 152/6, he scored yet another 50, to take the score to 296. This all, without factoring in, how valuable he can be as a bowler in SENA countries. Just for the record, he boasts of a strike-rate of 46 with the ball, in Tests.
Deserved Place in IPL and IND vs AUS Series
A part reason for India not doing well in the recently concluded IND vs AUS series, could very well be the non-inclusion of Shardul Thakur. He isn’t in the league of an all-rounder like a Nitish Kumar Reddy, but a proper bowler, who can chip in with valuable runs lower down the order.
India’s so-called all-rounders were in the team mostly because of their batting, and had little or no role with the ball. And players like Shardul could have made the difference. Nitish Reddy had five wickets in 5 matches, Ravindra Jadeja 4 in 3 matches, Washington Sundar got 3 in 3, and Ashwin 1 in 1.
Get Shardul Back!
Yes, there is no guarantee that Shardul would have come up with similar performances like the 2020-21 AUS series, but then, in hindsight, picking him over Nitish or Harshit Rana would have made more sense. Lastly, Shardul has excellent numbers with ball and bat in domestic season in 2024-25.
In Ranji Trophy, in 6 matches he has 16 wickets, and scored 291 runs at an average of 48. In Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked up 10 wickets in 7 matches, and in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he picked up 15 wickets in 9 matches.
