Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh does not seem to be much impressed with all-rounder Shardul Thakur’s bowling performances at World Cup 2023. Dodda criticised Shardul on social media having witnessed the latter’s underwhelming performances at the World Cup. Shardul has not been able to find his rhythm on home soil, managing to scalp only two wickets in the three games that he has played for India in the marquee tournament.
This compelled Dodda to react. The ex-India player was not impressed with Shardul’s bowling performances at cricket’s biggest stage.
“With all due respect to Shardul Thakur, on his bowling performance alone he would struggle to make it to Karnataka’s playing XI in any format, let alone India’s CWC 23”, Doda wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
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With due respect to Shardul Thakur, on his bowling alone he would struggle to make it to Karnataka’s playing Xl in any format, let alone India’s #CWC23— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) October 19, 2023
Shardul Thakur missed out on making the playing XI in India’s World Cup 2023 opener against Australia. Him being dropped was more of a tactical decision as Chennai’s pitch was much more suited to spinners. The strategy worked out perfectly for India as they went on to win that game by six wickets. Ravindra Jadeja had the best performance in the game as he scalped three wickets while Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin combined for the other three.
Shardul made his first appearance at the World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. He had a decent bowling performance in the match that saw him scalp the wicket of Rahmat Shah who was dismissed for 16 in 22 balls. Shardul also maintained a good economy, giving away just 31 runs in six overs. The all-rounder made his second successive appearance against Pakistan but was only limited to two overs as he failed to find any impact in that match. He was the only bowler on the Indian side to remain wicketless in that game.
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India played their last World Cup game against Bangladesh. Despite the unimpressive performances, Shardul was once again in the line-up for India. In the first innings, the 32-year-old scalped the wicket of Towhid Hridoy, dismissing the batter for 16 in 35 balls. However, Shardul proved to be a little expensive as he gave away 59 runs in his nine-over spell at an economy rate of 6.56. It did not prove to be damaging for India as the hosts went on to win the game comfortably by seven wickets. Former India skipper Virat Kohli stole the show as he smashed a century in the game against Bangladesh. He finished the game with a brilliant six.
India still have five games left to play before the commencement of the league stage, leaving Shardul Thakur with plenty of chances to prove his mettle in the competition. India will next face an undefeated New Zealand side on Sunday.
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