Shardul Thakur Sees Australia ODIs As A Chance To Bring A Game

Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur has enjoyed a rather auspicious return to international cricket. Though he couldn’t make a desired impact with the ball, he took the men in blue past the finish line with the bat in the ODI series decider between India and West Indies in Cuttack. Ahead of more white-ball assignments against tougher opponents, Shardul believes that the opportunity has come knocking and it is time to level up his game.

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With India’s regular white-ball picks in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar sidelined due to injuries, the speedster will team up with the likes of Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah. While unpredictable, Sri Lanka may not pose as tough a challenge contrary to how Australia would. However, the 28-year old fast bowler sees this challenge as an opportunity. He believes that it is a perfect opportunity to show our A game since the stronger the opponent is, the more they will be tested.

“It is an ideal opportunity for all of us to show our A game because the stronger the opponent, the more you will get tested. I look at it as an opportunity. If they are getting tougher, how do we put our A game on the park? How do you bail out your team from a tough situation?”

Shardul Thakur reveals his mantra:

The Mumbai-born pacer told his motto to success. He believes that, at present, the ball is coming out perfectly out of his hands and said that his mantra is ‘bowl hard, bowl fast.’ He further stated that as a bowler, you need to forecast what is in the batsman’s mind when they are coming out to bat or what is not.

“I feel the ball is coming out of my hand really well. Whatever matches I play in, this is my mantra: ‘bowl hard, bowl fast’. You have to get ahead of the opponents, what they are thinking or not thinking and in what frame of mind the batsman has come out to bat.”

India begin their new year by facing Sri Lanka in the first of the three T20s at the Barasapara Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.

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