'Kuch bhi ho jaye, batting mein acha karna he padega' - Shardul Thakur opens up about his rise as a batsman

Indian pacer or rather say all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been the apple of the eye lately all thanks to his heroics over the 22 yards. The Mumbai-born cricketer put up some sensational performances during the Test series against England. As a result, India have an unassailable 2-1 lead in the inconclusive series. While Shardul has primarily been a pacer for the best part of his career, his batting abilities have come to the fore lately.

Shardul, who famously scored a match-winning 67 against Australia earlier this year, smashed twin half-centuries during the fourth Test against England in London. His efforts took India to a memorable 157-run triumph. Besides his heroics in the longest format, the right-arm pacer has also played many cameos in white-ball cricket. Speaking of his rise as a batter, Shardul said an ankle injury prompt him to take batting seriously.

In the past, I couldn’t make an impact with the bat: Shardul Thakur

“When I injured my ankle two years ago, it was decided that I need to take my batting seriously. I had the ability in me and going ahead I wanted to contribute in the lower order. I told myself, kuch bhi ho jaye, batting mein acha karna he padega. In the past, there were opportunities which came with the bat too but somehow, I couldn’t make an impact. I told myself aisa nahi chalega,” Shardul was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

“When I made my comeback in the Indian team, I practiced with our throw down specialists Raghu and Nuwan – they are very quick. Initially, I wasn’t able to play them. I tried to improve my footwork when I faced them and slowly-slowly my batting improved. The more I played them the more I got adjusted to the pace,” he added.

The pacer further revealed that senior pros like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma motivate him to do well with the bat. He also recalled how former Indian captain MS Dhoni corrected his grip.

“There have been people from the Indian team management, Virat, Rohit, who kept on motivating me. They all said that whenever I bat, I should think the way batsman think. Once I was in Mahi bhai’s (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) room and holding his bat. He told me that my batting grip is too high and I need to hold it lower. Now I hold my bat there and it helps,” he added.