Shardul Thakur far better for Australian experience

Lahli (Haryana): There is no better sight for a fast bowler than seeing a green top, but Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur is not ready to get carried away.

“It’s not only about the grass on top, but the surface underneath too matters. The hardness of the surface and the moisture determine the carry of the ball. So, let’s wait and see how it behaves tomorrow,” said Shardul, one of the architects of Mumbai’s 41st Ranji title last season.

As a reward for his consistent performances in the domestic circuit, Shardul was picked in the India squad that toured the West Indies recently, but he didn’t get opportunity to make his debut. The 24-year-old said being with the senior team itself was a great experience and coach Anil Kumble has changed the way he approaches nets sessions.

“He made me bowl in the nets with the cones and marking certain areas where I needed to bowl consistently. He changed certain things in my routine. Though he was a leg-spinner, he has played enough cricket to know about fast bowling. What I learnt from Kumble will hold me in good stead,” said Shardul who has taken 142 first-class wickets in 39 matches.

Shardul, who took a five-for in the second innings of the Ranji final against Saurashtra last season, was expected to be called up into the squad for the New Zealand series, but BCCI didn’t name a replacement when Ishant Sharma was ruled out with an injury.

“It would have been nice to be in the squad, but India are playing on turning tracks at home and there aren’t many fast bowlers in the squad. And those who are there are doing well. To play at the highest level, your mentality has to improve. My job is to play and try to get wickets. It’s all about team combination and depends upon the situation. Regardless of whether you are in the squad or not, you need to keep doing things that are neded to improve yourself,” he added.

During the last IPL season, Shardul took to social media to vent his anger after being released by Kings XI Punjab midway through.

“I knew, I had my task cut out. But after being released from the IPL team, I played a few club games and I had the performance to back my selection in the Indian team. So, I was more than happy to get selected in the India team,” he added.

Representing India A, Shardul had a fruitful outing in Australia recently and took nine wickets in two first-class matches. Shardul said bowling on harder surface was a big learning curve.

“There you have to bowl in more correct areas than in India. Otherwise, it’s easy for the batsmen to score runs when you err in line and length. Coach Rahul Dravid helped me a lot with his experience of playing in Australia. He educated me on batsmen’s scoring areas such as point and square leg. You shouldn’t allow them to cut and pull; and make them drive to create wicket-taking opportunities,” he added.