12 Facts about Shardul Thakur: The ethos of consistency

Shardul Thakur has almost always wanted only one thing in life. It is to play cricket consistently. This attitude, despite bad, has seen Shardul Thakur rise up the ranks in Mumbai and Indian cricket to now become a part of the Indian Test squad. Considered to be one of the fastest grown players in the country, we take a peek into the man behind the wickets and India’s newest Test player.

1. A true Palghar lad:

Shardul Thakur was born on the 16th of October in 1991 at Palghar, Maharashtra.

2. The trains of Mumbai:

As is the case with many crickets from the state, the kitbags, and the trains tell a vivid story.  Hailing from Palghar, a town 87 km north of Mumbai, he spent his early cricketing years lugging his kitbag on early-morning trains into the city.

3. The opposite Dhawal:

Dhawal Kulkarni is perhaps one of the most successful modern day bowlers. With Shardul Thakur also making his claim with a plethora of wickets, he is somewhat of a ‘Lil’ Dhawal Kulkarni. Although, his rhythmic bowling action is somewhat similar to Kulkarni, his hard work is the ethos of the same.

4. Field of dreams:

2016 final against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, Shardul Thakur bowled the ball of his life. His dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara on the third day, the ball rearing up from a length to hit the shoulder of the bat, was perhaps the ball of the match.

5. A weight-loss program:

Thakur wasn’t a part of the Mumbai squad in early 2013 after having been told to lose weight by his teammates and his coaches.

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6. The Jimmy Anderson mould:

James Anderson is perhaps the best exponent of swing bowling at the moment. While Thakur does indeed have a long way to go before he comes close to becoming as good as Anderson, he does swing the ball both ways. Moreover, he can bowl the ball at a good pace and reverse swing the ball as he does.

7. The Wolfpack:

Thakur made his comeback to the Mumbai squad after losing the weight he had gained. This was the formation of the wolf pack that consisted of players such as Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare, and Akhil Herwadkar.

8. Warming the bench:

Having been purchased in the IPL auction by the Kings XI Punjab, Shardul Thakur was an unused substitute and warmed the bench the entire season. After coming out in the disappointment of not having been played, he was subsequently released by the franchise.

9. A coming around again:

The 2014-15 season of the Ranji Trophy was somewhat of a comeback for Shardul Thakur. Having become much leaner than he once was, Thakur roared back into action by taking a mammoth 48 wickets in the season.

10. The crownless king:

The Kings XI Punjab signed Thakur for INR 20 lakhs at the 2014 IPL player auction, but he only got to play one match in his first two seasons for the team.

11. The Proteas watershed:

So impressed were the selectors with Thakur’s performance that he received his India ‘A’ call-up at the end of the 2014-15 season. He also played for the Board President’s XI against the touring South African side in the fall of 2015. He took a four-wicket haul, including the wickets of Faf du Plessis and the skipper Hashim Amla.

12. A knight in the roundtable:

Shardul Thakur received his first international call-up when he was included in the Test side that would be touring the West Indies later this year.

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