Harbhajan said Shardul should bat at No. 8 in SENA Countries were a team finds it hard to afford two spinners due to playing conditions.
Shardul Thakur is currently under the spotlight after his heroics in the fourth Test against England at The Oval. He scored half-centuries in both innings and returned with a match-haul of 3 wickets to help India win the game by 157 runs and take an unbeatable 2-1 lead.
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has lavished praise on the Mumbai youngster, stating that he has the capability to finish Team India’s search of a dependable all-rounder after former captain Kapil Dev. Speaking with the Times of India, the former cricketer opined that Shardul could be Team India’s go-to player if he works harder on his skills.
“If he [Shardul Thakur] continues to work on his batting and continues to put the hard yards in his bowling, he can solve India’s problem of finding a dependable all-rounder after Kapil Dev. It’s so good to see the way he batted, and it will build his confidence going forward,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying.
Harbhajan has observed Shardul from close quarters at the Chennai Super Kings camp in the Indian Premier League. The off-spinner feels that the latter should bat at No. 8 in SENA Countries were a team finds it hard to afford two spinners due to playing conditions.
“He has done well for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy for many years. He’s been a dependable player for them. It’s the right time for him to take his game to the next level, and he’s done exactly that. I don’t think CSK or any other IPL franchise has done wonders to his game. He’s matured with age and time. He’s always been a very good bowler,” Harbhajan said.
“I would like to see him batting at No 8 and scoring runs consistently for Team India, especially in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa, where you can’t play two spinners and someone needs to bowl too as your main fast bowler and bat also as your No. 5 to 7 batsmen. Shardul is pretty capable of doing that at No 8, where he can score runs and win games for the team,” he added.
