Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has said that the Indian selectors have taken the correct decision by adding all-rounder Shardul Thakur to the 15-member T20 World Cup squad. Butt added that Thakur has performed consistently with both the bat and ball and he has earned his place on merit as well.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced their final squad for the upcoming mega event, replacing Axar Patel with Thakur. Patel will now be part of the stand byes along with Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar as well. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt backed the Indian selectors’ decision. According to him, Thakur’s confidence level is always high.
He stated: “It had to happen. Shardul Thakur had to be picked for the T20 World Cup. He has been claiming wickets consistently and has been contributing with the bat as well. In England too, he performed really well. He has the momentum of performances. In the IPL, Thakur and Harshal Patel picked up wickets in almost every game. But batting gives Thakur the edge when it comes to selection.”
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He continued: “India had picked too many spinners in the squad, as many as five. If three spinners can’t do the job, the fourth and fifth too will not be able to do anything. This is equivalent to playing eight batters. This move to bring in Thakur makes a lot of sense, especially considering the fact that there is no surety about Pandya’s bowling.”
Meanwhile, before the IPL, Shardul Thakur has impressed during the Tests in England with the limited opportunities which he had got. He had scored crucial half-centuries in both innings of The Oval Test apart from picking up three big wickets. However, Thakur has played 22 T20Is so far where he has claimed 31 wickets at a strike rate of 14.60 and an economy of 9.11 as well.
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Butt explained: “Test cricket, that too in England, is a lot tougher. The way he batted in England was really impressive. He can score at a good strike rate and is claiming at least two wickets with the ball in almost every game. The services of such an in-form player had to be utilized. His No. 1 reason for selection is his ongoing performance, then there are other add-ons.”
