Shardul Thakur has been fantastic for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025. He played some valuable knocks for the defending champions in the ongoing campaign, as the all-rounder made 402 runs in eight matches at an average of 40.20. He hit a ton and three half-centuries in the season, and with the ball, the all-rounder clinched 33 wickets, including a six-wicket haul in the first innings against Haryana in the Ranji quarterfinal.
With that, Shardul is once again back into the scheme of things as far as Test cricket is concerned. He was out of it for a significant time and even though his name was discussed for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Nitish Kumar Reddy was picked over him. The youngster did a good job in Down Under and with that, he arguably has sealed a spot for the upcoming England tour as well. However, with such quality performances, Shardul is back in the reckoning as well.
In the meantime, the 33-year-old revealed details of his chat with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma during the Ranji Trophy. Rohit, who was struggling for runs and was dropped from the fifth Test against Australia, told Shardul that he understands the pressure that's building on him but one good can change everything.
“When he played that Ranji game for us and did not score runs, we had a chat because he had not scored in Australia either. But he was so confident that he told me, “I know the runs are not coming now, but all I need is just one innings. Then, runs will come automatically again,” Shardul told RevSportz.
The 37-year-old failed in the first ODI against England, before smashing a century in the second in Cuttack. He couldn’t capitalise on the momentum in the third ODI but the century nevertheless is expected to boost his confidence for the upcoming Champions Trophy.