Shardul Thakur, a Mumbai player, supports his team members Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer. He feels their recent performance is not up to their usual standards. Shardul believes it’s not their ability, but bad luck causing this.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer each hit seven runs in the Ranji Trophy 2024 final against Vidarbha. Rahane’s season score is now 141 runs in eight matches at an average of 12.81, with only one half-century.
Shreyas, for his part, played only three Ranji matches this season and scored 58 runs. In between tournaments, he played two Tests against England, scoring 35, 13, 27, and 29 before being dropped.
“Ajinkya is not scoring runs throughout the season. He is not in the greatest of the forms,” Thakur said after the first day of the final. “We cannot blame him as it is just a phase for him where he is not getting runs. It’s just a rough patch for them. That’s what I would say [about] Shreyas [and] Ajinkya. These guys have been absolute match-winners for Mumbai and India.”
“Right now, it’s not their time; it’s time to support them rather than criticizing them because it’s easy to criticize.”
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur came in to bat at 111-6, but for the second time in the competition, he top-scored for his side with a stunning 75 (69) to help them reach 224. The innings followed Mumbai’s seasonal trend of middle-order breakdowns followed by lower-order comebacks.
“Ajinkya has not scored runs but his attitude on the fielding is top-notch,” Thakur added. “A lot of youngsters coming from Under-23 and Under-19 cricket in Mumbai don’t have the attitude that he has. You see him in the slips, even if he is fielded for 80 overs, he will sprint [to] save four runs.”
“Shreyas moves around the field like a tiger. He absolutely gives everything that he has on the field. Both of them are role models when they are in the dressing room.”
Shardul Thakur
However, Shardul Thakur did not hesitate to criticize youngster Bhupen Lalwani. Lalwani began the innings and scored 37 (64) runs, but Thakur believed he needed to learn to play for the team and make his starts matter.
“I love to play in tough situations” – Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur credited his form and capacity to stand up in stressful situations to his challenging early career, saying:
“I love to play in tough situations and tough conditions. The kind of life that I have lived travelling far from Palghar to Mumbai with the kit bag on the train, you know it was not easy. That has toughened me up.”
Shardul Thakur