“No wonder there was fire without smoke” - Shardul Thakur engages in some fun banter with Ritika Sajdeh

Team India all-rounder Shardul Thakur engaged in some fun banter with captain Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh over a picture the former had posted on his social media handle.

Thakur is part of the Indian squad that will take on Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played at the Kennington Oval in London from June 7 to 11.

On Wednesday, May 31, the all-rounder shared a couple of scenic pictures on his official Instagram handle, posing with the background of sea and sky.

He uploaded the pictures with the caption:

“Let eternal forces back you instead #st54.”

Responding to the post, Ritika attempted to pull the cricketer’s leg.

“I can see you were trying to go for the smouldering look. Try harder, k thanks bye,” she commented.

Thakur came up with an equally cheeky response to Ritika’s comment.

@ritssajdeh no wonder there was fire without smoke 😁,” Takur wrote.

Ritika is on great terms with quite a few cricketers from the current Indian squad and does not mind engaging in some fun banter once in a while.

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Former selector backs Umesh Yadav over Shardul Thakur for WTC final

Thakur was part of the Indian team that went down to England in the rescheduled Test in Birmingham last year. He had a forgettable match, scoring five runs and claiming only one wicket. However, some critics reckon that he could get the nod in the playing XI for the WTC final against Australia.

Former India selector Sarandeep Singh, however, feels otherwise. He backed Umesh Yadav ahead of Thakur as the third seamer for his extra pace.

Singh was quoted as saying by the PTI:

"I am picking Umesh ahead of Shardul because he has that extra pace and he can reverse the old ball, he can be very helpful on that Oval track.”

On India’s chances in the WTC final, he added:

"All of India's batters are in good form going into the one off game and that bodes well for the team. I don't see any concerns with regards to batting or bowling going into the final. All of them are in form.”

Thakur has played eight Tests for India in which he has claimed 27 wickets. A handy batter, he also has three fifties to his name.

On the other hand, Umesh Yadav has played 56 Tests, picking up 168 scalps at an average of 30.54.