IND vs WI: Umran Malik Out Of World Cup As Aakash Chopra Believes Mumbai Star Has Sealed His Spot

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra believes Shardul Thakur has sealed his spot in the Indian team for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. The comments came after the pacer’s impressive display in the third ODI against West Indies on Tuesday (August 2).

With just over three months left before the World Cup begins, every match is an opportunity for the fringe players to impress the selectors and the team management. Throughout the recently-concluded three-match series against West Indies, the Indian team management gave the fringe players a chance to impress as senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli sat out the second and third ODIs.

And one of India’s most impressive performers during the series was Shardul Thakur. The fast-bowler finished the three-match series as the highest wicket-taker. He picked up eight wickets in three games at an average of less than 12.

Aakash Chopra praises Shardul Thakur:

In the first ODI, Shardul Thakur got to bowl only three overs and he picked up one wicket. In the second ODI, he accounted for three more wickets although India suffered a 6-wicket loss. And on Tuesday, he starred with the ball, taking 4 for 37 as India thrashed West Indies by 200 runs to clinch the series.

Following his impressive displays, Aakash Chopra heaped praise on the pacer and said that he might have sealed his place as the fourth pacer in India’s squad for the upcoming World Cup 2023. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said:

“You need to praise Lord Thakur a lot. Lord Thakur has picked up the most wickets for India in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup. The good thing is that there is a place vacant for the World Cup. The question was who can be the fourth fast bowler after (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammad) Shami and (Mohammed) Siraj.”

“It seems like Lord Thakur has become the answer to that question currently. Umran Malik has fallen behind in that list suddenly, although he might do well in the T20s and we start talking about him, but for now it seems like Lord Thakur’s World Cup looks almost confirmed,” he added.

Speaking further, Aakash Chopra heaped praise on the bowler for his immense confidence and also highlighted that he can contribute with the bat too. The former cricketer-turned-commentator also pointed out that Thakur never shies away from bouncing back after bowling any poor delivery.

“Lord Thakur is not just about wicket-taking luck. There are many important factors that make him so successful with both bat and ball. First is just immense self-belief. He gets hit but definitely picks up wickets. He picks up wickets because he shows the courage to bowl wicket-taking balls.”

“He is a concoction of Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev, he has so much confidence – ‘If you give me the ball, it doesn’t matter who is playing in front of me, what sort of partnership has been stitched and what the conditions are, I will deliver and take a wicket’,” said Aakash Chopra.