Persistence pays off as Shardul returns to the limelight

Mumbai: When you have broken through the ranks to the Indian cricket team at 26 and have to drop out of an ODI event and your debut Test match; both due to a groin strain, you gain the wrong kind of reputation. Especially as a fast bowler, where fitness is non-negotiable.

Ever the consummate trier, Shardul Thakur found a way back to international cricket with his heroics in the epic 2021 Brisbane Test match. For Indian cricket, it marked the discovery of a new pace bowling all-rounder for overseas conditions.

It’s difficult to predict if early success in the IPL can lead to bigger things for the 33-year-old but it’s been another display of his spirit. He was unsold in the player auction, roped in as late replacement by Lucknow Super Giants and now, two matches into the season, is top of the wicket-taking list.

When LSG mentor Zaheer Khan was left scurrying for options after his entire first line of pacers, all big money buys were unfit before the season began, he knew Thakur was the man to turn to. With Thakur, he knew what to expect. If nothing else, he would control the controllables, a mantra Zaheer lived by and excelled as an international fast bowler.

Sticking to plans

Four of Thakur’s six wickets have come in the Powerplay. Two each at Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad where pitches have been flat, and batters emboldened to attack by the Impact Player rule.

Against the dangerous Travis Head, Thakur’s plan was to bowl full and extract some swing back in. He was okay to err towards the fuller side with low yorkers, but did not want to give the Australian any room to pick lengths or bother to bowl short. He wanted to bring the ball in from over the wicket, outside the eyeline of the batter. While exerting pressure, Thakur picked up Abhishek Sharma in the bargain by trapping him with the short-ball ploy.

“He always backs his skills,” said Thakur’s former team-mate Dhawal Kulkarni. “There are days when he picks up wickets. But even when he goes for runs, he will stick to his plans. He would not be afraid to bowl the same ball again.”

Bowling full and straight is what Thakur meant when he told the broadcasters of “going hard” at SRH openers, knowing they would be “coming out hard”.

When the ball gets older, Thakur lets loose his bag of tricks - the knuckle ball, scrambled seam and other such to stay in the contest. An all-phase bowler, Thakur picked up two more wickets at the death to help restrict SRH to 190, a match-winning effort.

“It was just one bad day in the auction, I didn’t get picked by any of the franchises,” Thakur said. “I always say, skills and talent are always there. You have to go through bad days in cricket.”

Thakur’s unsold status may have been sparked by the Impact Player rule which blunted the utility of all-rounders and his own dip in form which has seen him miss international cricket for more than a year.

Not picked for the Australian tour, Thakur did not sulk and played the entire domestic season for Mumbai across formats, shouldering the burden of leading the bowling attack. Towards the back end of the season, Thakur was amongst the wickets again.

“While playing for Mumbai, he was motivated and hungry when he was not picked for Australia,” said Kulkarni, also the bowling consultant with the Mumbai team. “He has that fighting spirit. He has developed a habit of winning matches.” When he wasn’t picking buckets of wickets for Mumbai, he was still delivering rearguard batting efforts like his second first-class hundred against J&K, this January.

A plucky cricketer, Thakur is the kind of street-smart team player every team craves for. When the camera panned to LSG’s team owner after the win in Hyderabad, he was bowing to the Purple Cap holder for his match-winning exploits. For all the right reasons, Lord Shardul is trending again.