Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has expressed that Shardul Thakur’s selection in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup had to happen. He opined that batting ability gives Shardul Thakur the edge over others.
Shardul Thakur was on the list of standby’s when the Indian squad was first announced. However, the BCCI made a change, replacing Shardul with Axar Patel, who has now been kept as a stand-by along with Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar. In a video on Salman Butt’s Youtube Channel, the former cricketer opined that the Indian selectors have made the right change. He said,
“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.”
“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,” he added.
🚨 NEWS 🚨: Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in #TeamIndia's World Cup squad. #T20WorldCup
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— BCCI (@BCCI) October 13, 2021
Reason for Shardul Thakur’s selection is his ongoing performance: Salman Butt
Salman Butt also highlighted that Shardul Thakur’s performance on India’s tour of England was impressive. In IPL 2021, Shardul Thakur has taken 18 wickets in 15 matches. He is the leading wicket-taker for his franchise, Chennai Super Kings. Butt believes it is the right to move, to pick the all-rounder in the World Cup squad as he is in form.
“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,” said Salman Butt.