After consistently performing in the domestic cricket, the Indian pacer Shardul Thakur recently made his international cricket debut but his hard luck hasn’t ended yet as his consistent fitness issues hold him back again and it is becoming a serious barrier for his international career. His recent Test debut was horrific for him as he was able to bowl only 10 balls before he was ruled out due to an injury.
The 27-year-old right-arm pacer Shardul Thakur made his international cricket debut through ODI in August 2017. In this October, during the first Test between India and Windies at Hyderabad, Thakur made his Test debut but he was able to bowl only 10 balls before getting suffered from the groin injury that forced him to get ruled out in the remaining period of the series.
Recently, Thakur told TOI, “I was angry when it happened. Who wants to start a debut match like that? No one. It is a terrible feeling, believe me. It is better to accept what happened rather than complaining about it. It is in the past for me now. I want to recover as soon as possible and return to cricket field.
“Virat immediately rushed towards me and asked ‘what happened?’ I told him that I won’t be able to continue. He saw my condition. I was tense and almost cried but Virat bhai’s words helped me handle that terrible situation. He spoke with Patrick Farhart and advised me to go back and relax. He gave me the confidence and asked to talk to him after the match. After that he came to me and asked about my injury. He said that ‘these things are normal for an athlete.”
Earlier of that Test series, he suffered from that same injury during the 2018 Asia Cup in UAE in last September. After getting ruled out in the early of that tournament due to that injury, Thakur was in the rehabilitation period and soon make the return to the international cricket through the Test debut in which he fell horribly due to the return of that injury.
Talking about his present fitness status, Thakur said, “Farhart is assisting me. He is taking one step at a time. According to him, I should be fine soon. As an athlete, you have to deal with these challenges. When you bowl, you aim for wickets and team’s win. And when these things happen, it really hurts. It took time for me to accept it. I am now concentrating on the recovery process.”
