Ravichandran Ashwin Reveals Hilarious Incident When Shardul Thakur Defied Ravi Shastri's Instruction At The SCG

Shardul Thakur has won the fans over with his stunning performance in the fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba. Playing just his second Test, he scored a fighting fifty in the first innings and picked up seven wickets in the game as India thrashed the hosts by three wickets to seal the game and clinch the four-match series.

Shardul Thakur has been receiving praise from all over for his stunning all-round exploits. And one can say that the fans would love him even more after Ravichandran Ashwin’s recent revelation about his action during the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Mumbai star had decided against passing on head coach Ravi Shastri’s instructions to Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari while they were busy saving the Test for the team.

During the fifth day’s play of the game, Shastri called up Shardul Thakur to pass certain strategic instructions to Vihari and Ashwin. And while Shardul Thakur went on the field to talk to the duo, he did not pass the message. Ashwin made the revelation while speaking to India’s fielding coach R Sridhar on his YouTube channel. The 29-year old instead told Ashwin and Vihari to carry on their fine work with the bat.

“Ravi Shastri had a clear message. He called Shardul Thakur (and said) ‘Shardul, come here and tell them that I told this specifically’. He (Shardul) was almost shivering. He said ‘ What should I say, sir?’ ‘Tell Ash, that I told him’, Shastri replied. ‘What should I tell him, sir?’, Thakur enquired,” said Sridhar.

“Shastri said, ‘Ashwin should take care of this end, and Vihari should bat from the other end. Ashwin is the best batsman against Nathan Lyon in this entire team. So he should bat from this end. He has a huge stride which helps him negate spin so well. Vihari is managing Starc and Cummins really well, getting underneath those bouncers. So ask them to continue’,” added Sridhar.

Shardul Thakur, however, changed his mind after entering the field. With both Ashwin and Vihari doing extremely well, he told them to continue their good work instead of passing on Shastri’s instructions.

“Then out came Shardul, running out from the dressing room. He was catching his breath when he reached us. We were like: ‘Just say it man’, while drinking water. Shardul said: ‘They told me so many things from the dressing room’. Yes, please tell, (I said). ‘But I am not going to say any of it’, Shardul replied. ‘You guys are doing a great job. So please continue’,” revealed Ashwin.

Vihari and Ashwin indeed did a stunning job to pull off a famous draw for Team India and kept the team’s chances of winning the series alive. The duo braved their respective injuries and batted for more than 40 overs to save the game.

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