'I certainly have my eyes on T20 World Cup' - Shardul Thakur to learn from mistakes made against New Zealand

In 2018, he could last only 10 balls in his debut Test as a leg injury saw him leaving the field in the match against the West Indies in Hyderabad. Even as bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur waits to play in the second Test of his career, he has continued to represent India in the limited-overs formats.

Shardul recently featured in the T20I and ODI series against New Zealand in their den and it was a mixed experience for the 28-year-old Mumbai cricketer. While he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series, he had an unforgettable outing in the ODI series.

However, the thrashing he got in the three ODIs hasn’t made Shardul lose heart. Instead, the right-hand bowler has said that he will learn from the “mistakes” made in the series and passionately strive towards glory in the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year in Australia.

Shardul took only three wickets in the 50-over series against the Black Caps and went for a lot of runs, so much so that even the Indian team management came under criticism for persisting with the man despite leaking too many runs.

“Certainly I have my eyes on the World Cup. The positivity that I bring into the game and the amount of confidence I have, the way I am passionate about the game will help the team to win the World Cup or at least do the job fairly,” India Today quoted Shardul as saying on his return to Mumbai. India will now play a two-match Test series in New Zealand starting next Friday.

Shardul Thakur sets his eyes on IPL 2020

For Shardul, the focus now shifts back to the T20s. Having taken 21 wickets in 15 T20Is, Shardul is now eyeing the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a preparatory step for the World Cup.

“Definitely, the IPL is important and the momentum we gain from the IPL will be crucial going forward. There is the Sri Lanka T20s coming up and we are going to Zimbabwe after IPL. Then we are playing Asia Cup going into T20 World Cup,” Shardul, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL now, said.

“So whatever momentum we gain from IPL will be important and will be crucial going ahead. We just need to carry (it) forward in the tournaments after IPL,” the cricketer, who has been named as the brand ambassador for ‘Tata Power’, said.

On the lessons to be learnt from the New Zealand tour, Shardul said he would study his mistakes and improve. He said it was his first tour of New Zealand and cited the fact that he is still in the stage of inexperience. Shardul has played in 11 ODIs and 15 T20Is in which he has claimed 33 scalps.

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