Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper has heaped praise on Shardul Thakur, stating that the Mumbai bowler could gradually be moulded into a bowling all-rounder.
Shardul Thakur burst onto the scene in the final Test against Australia in Brisbane earlier this year when most of the senior players were out with injuries. It was just his second game for India in the longest format and came up with a gritty half-century and picked up seven wickets.
Virat Kohli: Multi-Dimensional Shardul Thakur Can Definitely Be Created Into An All Rounder
Mentioning his role in the historic win in Brisbane, Virat Kohli, while addressing a pre-match virtual presser, termed Shardul Thakur a multi-dimensional cricketer who could bring balance to the team.
“Yes, he can definitely be created (into an all-rounder). He already is a multi-dimensional cricketer and it’s all about him getting more and more confident. Someone like him brings a lot of balance to the Test team or for that matter any format of the game.”
“Hardik has done that so far in the past and he is getting back on track to bowling regularly. These kinds of cricketers help the team in a massive way and Shardul is a huge prospect for us. Someone who will be very important not just this series but moving forward as well,” said Virat Kohli at the press conference on Tuesday.
Compared to 2018, when the team lost 1-4 due to a couple of bad sessions, the skipper feels that they are much better prepared this time around with two months in England helping them to acclimatize with changes in the weather pattern. India and England will square off in the first Test of the 5-match series which kicks off on Wednesday at Tent Bridge, Nottingham.
“The players, who were inexperienced in 2018 are now more experienced. Yes, there will be failures but we will have enough players to raise their hands up and be counted in pressure situations,” said Virat Kohli.
Shardul Thakur was the lone fast-bowling all-rounder in India’s squad for WTC Final but he failed to make it to the final 15, let alone the XI. The two-Test old Shardul Thakur was mighty impressive in the only longest format game he played in the away series against Australia this year, picking up seven wickets and a half-century to boot in Brisbane.
India Is Worried And Concerned About The Opening Slot For The 1st Test As Shubman Gill And Mayank Agarwal Has Been Ruled Out Due To Injuries
The first Test between India and England has been scheduled between August 4 and August 8. The outing will commence from 3:30 PM IST at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham. This match is the first of the five-match series which is being played as a part of the second cycle of the World Test Championship 2023.
The Virat Kohli-led team will be without Mayank Agarwal in the first Test after he got hit on the head during a practice session ahead of the series. KL Rahul will probably open as he is in fine form in the IPL 2020 and 2021 and carried that in the warm-up match against Select County XI, where he slammed a century. The Indian side has been in great form and their performance in the previous World Test Championship was also praiseworthy.
The team had managed to make it to the finals but were unfortunately defeated by New Zealand during the match at Southampton. One of the major concerns for the team could be deciding the opening batsman for the upcoming game as Shubman Gill is not a part of the squad for the series.
England, on the other hand, lost their last Test match series against New Zealand by 0-1. Earlier this year during the February-March tour of England, India had successfully defeated their opponent by a margin of 3-1.
India Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja/Shardul Thakur/Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah