New Delhi: A day after sending a message to the selectors by making a strong statement on and off the pitch, Shardul Thakur lived up to his words and showed his ‘quality’ by scoring a classy century for Mumbai in the Elite Group A match against Jammu and Kashmir at the BKC.
Thakur, frozen out of the India set-up and unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, rescued Mumbai on Day 1 with a gritty half-century after the dramatic collapse of Mumbai’s star-studded batting line-up.
Following the half-century, Thakur sent a strong message to the selectors by questioning his exclusion from the national fold. “What can I talk about my quality? Others should talk about it. They should see that if someone has quality, he should be given more chances,” Thakur said after the conclusion of Day 1 in Mumbai.
On Day 2, Thakur again came to the rescue of his state side and bettered his performance with a sensational century, which might prove to be the difference between the two sides.
Tottering at 101/7, Mumbai were rescued by a magnificent partnership between Thakur and Shams Mulani. At the time of writing this article, Thakur was batting on 101 and Mulani on 53 and the stand between the two had reached 154- run stand. Courtesy of the superb partnership, Mumbai, who looked like surrendering the match on Day 2, has reached in a position to challenge for the match.
WATCH: Shardul celebrates in style after reaching the three-figure mark
SHARDUL THAKUR – THE CRISIS MAN FOR MUMBAI. 🙇♂️
– The celebration from Lord Thakur was special. 🫡❤️pic.twitter.com/GGvtndbSpT
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 24, 2025
Can Shardul make a national comeback?
Shardul’s fifty had helped Mumbai cross the 100-run mark in the first innings while his hundred has taken them past the 250-run mark and out of choppy waters.
Shardul, one of the heroes of India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph in Australia in the 2020-21 tour, has not done a lot wrong but finds himself frozen out of the Indian set-up.
He last played for Team India during the first Test match against South Africa in 2023 and was snubbed by the selectors during the recent Test series against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.
He also went unsold during the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The emergence of Nitish Kumar Reddy has raised doubts about Shardul’s comeback but if he keeps performing, anything is possible.
Shardul Thakur slammed a sensational century to rescue Mumbai for the second successive day in their Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
