India bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur expressed his disappointment as a "big setback" of missing the T20 World Cup cut but said that he is focused on doing well in upcoming games as he still has a "lot of cricket" left in him.
Thakur played the T20 format for India during the time Hardik Pandya was doing his rehabilitation program but a poor economy rate of 9.15 has pushed him out of the national team's radar.
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"Of course, it's a big setback. Every player dreams to play in the World Cup, not just play but win it as well," Thakur said.
"It's okay I'm not selected this time. But there's still a lot of cricket left and also there's the ODI World Cup next year. My focus will be to do well in whatever matches I play and make winning contributions," Shardul said.
India have suffered another big blow to their T20 World Cup campaign when injury-prone Deepak Chahar, who was in the reserves, was ruled out of the ongoing series with his chances to go to Australia seeming remote.
"Injuries are part and parcel of the game, at some point, someone is going to get injured. We should not take it by heart honestly. There is a lot more cricket to come," he said.
Asked if he fancies his chances, the 30-year-old said: "If injuries happen then anyone can come at any point in time. As of now, your responsibility is to be ready whenever and wherever you're asked to play. I will be mentally ready if I'm given a call-up. That's all in my hands."
- Shardul also gave his take on batting lower down the order
Thakur further said he is honing his batting skills to make the difference lower down the order.
"If you see teams who have done very well at the international level, their batting line-up has been quite deep. Australia for instance, they have the likes of Pat Cummins, and Mitch Starc coming at 8 or 9. Even for that matter England.
"I've been focusing on my batting for quite a long time now. Batting at no 7 or the one coming at no 9, if they can contribute it's always great. That gives you a cushion.
"We also can have our batting lineup deep and make the difference. The difference of 15-20 runs can be crucial in winning the match, especially in white ball cricket," he said.
(Inputs from PTI)
