Shardul Thakur, a pacer, lived up to the hype by taking three significant wickets in India’s third one-day international match against New Zealand in Indore. Thakur took back-to-back wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Captain Tom Latham on a surface that was built for the hitters to rule, changing the complexity of the contest. In light of this, former India international Irfan Pathan thinks the 31-year-old would undoubtedly figure during the 2019 ODI World Cup for India. The former cricketer praised him and added that the team needed guys who never give up.
“If you ask Shardul, he will be the No. 1. He bowled really well. He is a trier; he keeps trying. When you see him, you will always feel that he doesn’t have that kind of swing, he doesn’t have that kind of pace which is 140-plus consistently, but he will always be in your face. And he wants to keep taking wickets,” said Pathan. “You want guys like him in the team as well. With him, especially when you are talking about the World Cup, you need at least six seven options in your hand as far as the team combination is concerned,” Shardul said during an interaction on the Star Sports show ‘Match Point’,” the former swing sensation concluded.
Irfan Pathan rates Shardul Thakur as one of the favorites to make India’s world cup roster, but Sanjay Manjrekar is unsure if it is the best course of action. He thinks Hardik Pandya is capable of filling a similar role, thus Thakur may not get the chance. Manjrekar countered that there is still a long way to go before the World Cup and that anything might happen in that time. “I am not as certain about Shardul Thakur. There is a lot of time between now and the World Cup, and there are a few other contenders. There is Hardik Pandya also, who has a similar kind of role – batting and bowling. So, I agree Shardul Thakur will be in the plans, but I don’t know whether he will make it in the squad finally,” the 57-year-old said.