India all-rounder Shardul Thakur© AFP
India is all set to take on England in the rescheduled 5th Test match at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham and all eyes are on what playing XI will the Indian team management go ahead with. One man who has been an integral part of the Indian Test side over the past year or so, due to his ability with both bat and ball, is all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Shardul has picked up key wickets with his dibbly-dobbly medium pacers and contributed handsomely with the bat late down the order.
He spoke to BCCI in an interview ahead of the Test match and spoke on a range of topics. Shardul is someone who has been given a lot of nicknames by his teammates and the all-rounder is more than happy with that.
“I am fine with any name (laughs). The name Bull is what they have been calling me since my Ranji Trophy days. People call me Lord and Beefy because of my performances against England. It shows how much my teammates love me. It’s good to hear, sounds good when it falls on my ears,” Shardul said.
From fond memories of playing in England to the funniest nicknames given to him by his teammates. ???????? @imShard shares it all as #TeamIndia gears up for the rescheduled #ENGvIND Test at Edgbaston. ???? ????
Full interview ????⬇️https://t.co/kewiZpN1Ax pic.twitter.com/pKpJtMEZFW
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 30, 2022
He has picked up 26 wickets in 7 Test matches so far. What is noteworthy though is that these wickets have come at a miserly average of a little over 21 and a strike-rate of 38.4, both of which are quite close to the gold standard in Test cricket.
He has also contributed 249 runs, which included three invaluable half-centuries low down the order. Shardul is expected to start the match for India and if he gets going then England will find it tough.
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