Zimbabwe vs India: Shardul Thakur on being smart as a bowler – I just need to keep polishing my skillsets

ZIM vs IND, 2nd ODI: Shardul Thakur picked up three wickets against Zimbabwe and helped India bowl their opponents out for 161 in 38.1 overs.

India fast bowler Shardul Thakur put forth the reason why he didn’t open the bowling in the second ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, August 20. Thakur came to bowl in the eighth over after Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna took the new ball.

Nevertheless, Thakur was excellent with the old ball as he picked up three crucial wickets and was arguably the standout bowler for India. Thakur got the important wickets of Innocent Kaia, Regis Chakabva, and Luke Jongwe and on the back of his spell, India bowled Zimbabwe out for 161 in 38.1 overs.

Thakur mentioned that he has decent bowling skillsets, but he is trying to polish them as he gains more experience. He also talked about reading the batter’s mind when batters are trying to go for big shots.

“You have to look at what the opening bowlers have bowled, whether it's swinging or seaming around. And according to the batsmen, you have to be smart as a bowler to adjust accordingly. Early on, it was a little on the slower side. Later on, there was a bit more so we could bowl more bouncers,” Thakur was quoted as saying.

“What I can improve on is guess where the batsman is going to attack me and bowl accordingly. I think I have good skillsets so I just need to keep polishing those in the nets. Sometimes you just need to hit the deck hard and keep it tight,” he added.

Thakur has been a key member of the Indian team, especially for the last one and half years. However, he failed to make it to India’s Asia Cup 2022 squad despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Bumrah was earlier ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury.