Facing A Fast Bowler Is Easier Than Getting A Seat In The Mumbai Local – Shardul Thakur

Team India fast bowler Shardul Thakur showed all-round abilities in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test to beat Australia at the Gabba. He scored 69 runs with the bat and picked nine wickets to make crucial contributions as India scripted a history 2-1 win retaining the trophy.

Incidentally, Shardul made his Test debut against the West Indies back in October 2018. However, what should have been a momentous occasion soon turned into a nightmare as he pulled his hamstring 10 balls into his spell. He was sidelined for two years before another opportunity beckoned ahead of the fourth Test after Jasprit Bumrah failed to recover from his injury.

However, Shardul Thakur grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Along with picking seven wickets in the Test match, he was India’s highest run-scorer in the first innings and shared a crucial 123-run partnership with debutant Washington Sundar.

Finding a seat in Mumbai local is more difficult – Shardul Thakur

The cricketer from Mumbai looked in complete control against the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. Recalling the scenes from Gabba, Shardul Thakur admitted that facing Cummins, Starc was much easier than grabbing a seat in a Mumbai local.

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“Getting a seat in a (Mumbai local) train, it required skill and timing. Facing fast bowlers is much easier,” Shardul Thakur told the Indian Express in an interview.

“I always enjoy playing fast bowlers, I have never been scared of speed. Am not scared to face even 145 kmph plus. Maybe it’s because of how my cricketing career started. We have a ground in my village where my first few years of cricket were played on matting wickets. The pitch in Palghar had uneven bounce, so handling bounce came naturally to me. At the same time, I faced throwdown specialists regularly in the Indian team nets, so am used to playing pace,” Thakur said.

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Speaking further, Shardul Thakur also highlighted that staying away from family for four long months was a difficult task. However, the emphatic victory dried up all pain and misery of staying away from the family. With the Aussie series done and dusted, Shardul will have his eyes set on the forthcoming England series which starts from February 5.