'Scoring a century is a big, big relief' - Shardul Thakur opens up about his potential return to Indian team

Shardul Thakur scored a brilliant counter-attacking century in the first innings for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals on Sunday. Batting at number 9, Thakur made 109 runs which helped Mumbai recover from a precarious situation at 106/7 and take a big 207-run lead. 

However, despite this terrific knock, Thakur is aware that an India recall may still be far away. The last time Thakur played for India was in the first Test against South Africa in January 2022. Since then, he has not been part of the Indian Test squad, including the ongoing five-match England series at home.

Also read: Shardul Thakur smashes quickfire century after Iyer, Rahane's lackluster display

I think an international comeback is far from now: Shardul Thakur

Thakur's century came after a gap from international cricket and in the middle of uncertainties regarding his future selections. Thakur admitted that his Ranji ton comes as a relief after being dropped from the Indian team a couple of months back. 

But he knows that with the current Indian Test squad already selected for the final match against England, and IPL starting soon after, an international recall looks unlikely shortly.

“I think an international comeback is far from now because the Test team is out already for the fifth game and after this, we are going into the IPL so it’s far,” Thakur said after the second day’s play at the MCA-BKC ground. 

In the Ranji Trophy match, Mumbai were struggling at 106/7, largely due to Tamil Nadu spinner Sai Kishore's six-wicket haul. Thakur came in at this tough situation but counter-attacked brilliantly, scoring his century and taking Mumbai to a strong position with a massive 207-run lead.

Reflecting on his innings, Thakur acknowledged the magnitude of his achievement while remaining pragmatic about his international prospects. 

 “I am not thinking that far. But yes, scoring a century is a big, big relief and it was very important for the team at that point of time,” he added.

Also read: Shardul Thakur calls for longer break between Ranji games

Thakur praised Sai Kishore's bowling, saying he is the best left-arm spinner to emerge after Ravindra Jadeja. “He (Kishore) was bowling well. After a long, long time I could see a quality left-arm spinner who is coming up after Jaddu (Ravindra Jadej)” Thakur concluded.