
India’s experienced all rounder Shardul Thakur handled the stick wonderfully well during Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir, steering his team out of a dangerous zone. The dumped India pacer once again proved his worth by scoring a fighting fifty to help Mumbai out of a tight spot. His latest innings, however, raises a question mark over his angry outbursts on the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar, on why he has been ignored of late for national assignments though fit and performing consistently in domestic cricket.
Shardul Thakur Takes Aim at Selectors
Commenting about his innings to the media after the day’s play, Shardul Thakur virtually had a go at the Indian selectors for ignoring him even though he has proved handy in crunch situations. The 31-year-old pacer, not selected for the Indian Test team in recent past series, vented his frustration over being ignored.
What did I have to say about such quality? Others should talk about it. They should see that if someone has quality, he should be given more chances,” Thakur said, referring to the role of selectors in providing adequate support to the cricketer.
The big match hero, who showed extraordinary performances in the final over of the match, stressed his fondness for handling him pressure saying ‘I enjoy coming in to bat in tough circumstances’. Continue in the easy times everyone plays to form but how you stage the production during hard times counts. Pressure for me is a cup of tea and there is no way I don’t think about how to get over that cup of tea.
Shardul Thakur's Heroics Rescue Mumbai
Shardul Thakur showed great skills in the traditional format of the game again during the match against Jammu & Kashmir. Mumbai top order failed to deliver under pressure and the team was left in tatters at a pathetic 47/7. However Thakur just came out of it with a counter attaching inning of 51 of 57 balls with five fours and two sixes. His contribution took Mumbai to 120 which after all was offering the team acompetitive chance.
His innings also includes an important 63 run stands which came for the sixth wicket with Tanush Kotian which gave some stability to Mumbai’s inning after early loses. This was evident once again as far as the importance of this cricketer as an all rounder in the longer version of the game was concerned.
This is not the first time the Thakur has performed when the expectations are at their lowest. His first first-class hundred came during the 2024 Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu where he got out on 156. At ninth position, Thakur played a crucial knock of 109 off 105 with the help of 13 fours and 4 sixes to see Mumbai home.
A Tough Outing for Rohit Sharma
While Shardul Thakur came up with good performance, India skipper Rohit Sharma could manage only a poor show in his return to Ranji Trophy. Returning to the mega event after 14 years, Rohit could manage only three runs before getting a tickle to mid-off. This poor outing comes after a lean period for Rohit who was out of sorts in the just concluded Test series in Australia.
But Thakur supported Rohit and cited that his captain had not lost his love for Mumbai cricket. “He is always keen to be a part of Mumbai cricket.” Any Mumbaikar the way we have seen hardships growing up as teenagers playing Maidan cricket everybody is so passionate about Mumbai cricket that even if they are playing for India, they follow whatever Mumbai team is doing,” Thakur said.
IPL Snub and Moving Forward
This was compounded with Shardul Thakur having no takers for this Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. However, Thakur did not show frustration and continued to look positively on the future and, in particular, did not monotonously recall the failures of the past.
The best thing that one would have to do is not be concerned with all that had happened in the past since it will remain in the past. ‘It is crucial to stay here and think about the things it is possible to do now,’ he said and explained that he is still willing to go forward notwithstanding the animosity.
A Player Built for Big Moments
Shardul Thakur is one of the most promising bowlers in Indian domestic cricket because of his excellence at clutch moments. Steel’s raising talent and Johnson’s commitment only mean Thakur has had to fight for his position in a team, be it for his batting heroics in the death overs or his ability to take wickets in a cluster.
However, his exclusion from the national Test setup and the IPL auction question marks the selectors on how they rate the players who make hay in testing conditions. Thakur talking about giving a player more chances if he has quality, is guilding light on the broader concept of selecting experimented players for consistent first eleven at the top level.
Until then, Shardul Thakur has just bowled and batted as one of India’s finest lower order batsmen, and his effort against Jammu & Kashmir is a testament to his relentless ability. Whether the selectors will be listening is another matter entirely however.