I Would Want Shardul To Be Given Preference In The WTC Final: Shardul Thakur's Childhood Coach Dinesh Lad

With Hardik Pandya’s troublesome back not allowing him to bowl, Team India has been grappling with the lack of seam-bowling all-rounder in their ranks in white-ball cricket, but Shardul Thakur’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad feels that the Mumbai cricketer can fill in that slot in Test cricket.

Shardul Thakur was given an opportunity in the Brisbane Test in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and the all-rounder made the most of the chance as he chipped in with seven wickets across two innings including a four-for in the second besides scoring a crucial half-century during a 123-run-stand with Washington Sundar in the first innings.

And, his childhood coach believes that the all-rounder should be given a chance in the marquee clash against New Zealand as he can swing the ball and chip in with crucial wickets besides making a contribution with the bat.

‘’As a coach, I would want Shardul to be given preference in the WTC final based on how he has been performing of late. He can swing both the ball and bat, and it will be a plus point for India to let Shardul fill that all-rounder’s role. But again, everything depends on the team management and coaches,” Dinesh Lad said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

‘’As a coach, I would want Shardul to be given preference in the WTC final based on how he has been performing of late. He can swing both the ball and bat, and it will be a plus point for India to let Shardul fill that all-rounder’s role. But again, everything depends on the team management and coaches,” Dinesh Lad added.

‘He has learned to handle pressure’- Dinesh Lad on Shardul Thakur

His childhood coach further added that with a 10-12 day window before the Test match, Shardul Thakur should get ample time to practice and get acclimatized to the English conditions.

Lad further added that he has always told Shardul to focus on making the batsmen play and enforce them to make a mistake. Lad believes that Shardul has now learned to handle pressure and if given consistent opportunities, he has the ability to finish as one of the best in the game.

”They have some 10-12 days window before the first match, so he will get ample time to practice and get used to the conditions. And he recently played against England, so I don’t think he will have any problem. I have just one funda, I have always told him to make the batsman play without thinking about movement, because the batter will make a mistake but in order to make that happen, he needs to be enticed to play,” he said.

“He has the ability and hence reached that level, so he just needs to hold a particular line and length to get wickets. He has also learnt to handle pressure, like how we saw him bat in a pressure situation and help India win in Brisbane,” Dinesh Lad added.

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