Shardul Thakur reacts to 'Lord Shardul' memes; reveals conversation with Sam Curran during Oval Test
Shardul Thakur had been one of India's top performers in the recently-concluded Test series against England. The 29-year-old, who was primarily included as a pacer in the squad, made significant contributions with the bat in the fourth Test which aided India to 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the status of final Test yet to be confirmed.
In the Oval Test, Thakur scored half-centuries in both innings (57 & 60), while also taking three wickets in the game (including the wicket of the in-form Joe Root in the final innings) to steer India to a 157-run victory.
In an interview with Indian Express, Thakur has now revealed that he had a light-hearted conversation with England's Sam Curran on the evening of the fourth day of the Test, where Curran confidently said that England would bat well on the "flat deck."
“He said the wicket is flat and we will score 100 runs without losing any wicket,” Thakur said.
“I said don’t worry, I will get the breakthrough and you will lose five quick wickets and we will win the game! All this somehow came true,” he said before adding, “Achha time chal raha hai mera, so le lo jitna mil raha hai (Good times are on, take as much as one can!”).
Shardul Thakur took the opening wicket of Rory Burns, which triggered an English top-order collapse as the hosts lost their next five wickets within 46 runs.
The bowler also reacted to the "Lord Shardul" memes, which trended on Twitter throughout the course of the fourth Test following his impressive performance in the game.
“Somewhere, I feel I haven’t achieved anything yet, I don’t want to be satisfied. I have seen days where the same social media has cursed my presence in the team. Now I am enjoying these memes. It shows how much love I am getting from all quarters," said Thakur.
“I don’t mind such names. But I want people to remember me as the guy who created an impact in the game and won the game. That’s what matters to me down the line.”
