Shardul Thakur should raise the bar to be in the Indian team: Chandrakant Pandit

Chandrakant Pandit, the former coach of Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, feels that Shardul Thakur should raise the level of his bowling to consistently stay in the Indian team. The medium pace bowler was dropped from the squad for the Australia series after only a couple of ODIs against Sri Lanka. However, he was picked for the India ‘A’ side which will play New Zealand ‘A’ at home.

Shardul made his international debut in the 4th ODI of the series against Sri Lanka and returned with the decent figures of 1/26 after 7 overs. But he failed to replicate the performance in the next game as he was expensive and went wicketless as well. Pandit is of the opinion that he should be ready to be in and out of the side.

Shardul needs to be mentally strong

“Shardul has the ability to prove himself at the top level. His future is bright. There is tough competition for fast bowlers in the Indian team and Shardul needs to be mentally fit to overcome such situations. He should work hard and grab the opportunity with both hands whenever he gets a chance,” Pandit, a former India stumper said in an interview to mid-day on Tuesday.

He advised the right-arm pacer to raise the bar and match the pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and others. “Shardul needs to raise the bar with his bowling and should keep himself fit to compete against other India pacers. While playing at the international level, he should be more disciplined in his bowling. He is an outstanding fielder and can bat well. He should concentrate on batting too. We have very few all-rounders and Shardul has the ability to be a good all-rounder,” he added.

The former Mumbai coach also opined that Shardul is one for the future and needs to be groomed properly. “He has good pace and movement. He is a wicket-taking bowler and because of his aggression, he tries out different things. As he will play more matches at the highest level, he will learn how to plan to get different batsmen out, but right now, it is very important to give him confidence and groom him for the future,” Chandrakant Pandit signed off.