Yes I Can Be Called A Bowling All-Rounder: Shardul Thakur After His All-Round Performance At The Gabba

After having endured a nightmarish Test debut against the West Indies in 2018 where he pulled his hamstring just ten balls into his spell, Shardul Thakur staged his redemption at the Gabba in Brisbane as he chipped in with both bat and ball to help India breach Australia’s fortress and clinch the series 2-1.

Thakur claimed a total of seven wickets across two innings in what was a beautiful display of swing bowling besides smashing 67 in the first innings during a game-changing 123-run-stand with debutant Washington Sundar.

And, after having performed with both bat and ball, Shardul Thakur is now confident of contributing as an all-rounder in whatever opportunities he gets in the future.

“Yes, I can be called a bowling all-rounder, I have that ability to bat and even in the future, whenever I get my opportunity to bat, I am going to contribute useful runs to the team’s total,” Shardul Thakur told PTI.

Shardul Thakur had come into the series-decider as a replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah and the Mumbai all-rounder is hugely satisfied that he managed to play a key role in Team India breaching the ‘Gabbatoir’

”It is not easy to play against Australia in Brisbane, everyone knows their record in Brisbane, they hadn’t lost a Test match (since) 1988 until this one when we beat them,” he said.

“So, to have performed in this game taking seven wickets and also scoring a fifty and being able to majorly contribute in the team’s victory, it really makes me happy,” Thakur added.

‘I don’t regret on missing a fifer in the second innings’- Shardul Thakur

Shardul and Mohammed Siraj were locked at four wickets apiece when Australia’s ninth wicket fell. Eventually, it was Mohammed Siraj, who claimed his maiden five-for, and ironically it was Shardul, who completed the catch of Josh Hazlewood at deep third-man.

When asked if the all-rounder had any regrets on not getting a five-wicket-haul, Shardul Thakur shrugged it off, stating that while he would have loved to take his maiden five-wicket-haul, he was more than happy for Siraj, who had through an incredibly tough time on the tour.

”No, I don’t regret on missing a fifer in the second innings. I mean, it would have been okay if I had taken a fifer but I am really happy for Siraj and I really wished that he should get five wickets because he was going through a lot of hard time,” he said.

”This was an emotional series for him. He (Siraj) lost his father recently and he mentioned that how his father wanted to him to play cricket. Even though he is not present here in this world, he is watching him from the heavens and he would have been really happy seeing him taking five wickets,” he said.

”So, when I took that catch, I was really, really (happy). I was like, thank god Siraj got five wickets,” added Thakur.

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