"Shardul Thakur is emerging as a batting all-rounder, but he cannot be the third pacer in the side" - Saba Karim

Former Indian player Saba Karim opined that Shardul Thakur is slowly emerging as a batting all-rounder for Team India. Thakur has been highly impressive with the bat in the ongoing fourth Test against England at the Oval.

Playing at number 8 in the batting order, he notched up half-centuries in both innings and steered India out of trouble on both occasions.

5️⃣0️⃣ in the first innings ✅ 5️⃣0️⃣ In the second innings ✅ 1️⃣ Shardul Thakur! Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! 📺#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #Thakur pic.twitter.com/0eAobMJPTF

— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 5, 2021

Speaking on the Khelneeti Podcast, Saba Karim heaped praise on Thakur for his brilliant performance with the bat. He said:

"The runs Shardul Thakur added were highly valuable for the Indian team in both innings. The most important thing to note here is that all the good knocks of Shardul Thakur have come in SENA countries so far. The first one came at the GABBA, a hard and bouncy surface. And here he got runs in England, where the conditions are perceived to be difficult for batting."

Even though Thakur's batting has been effective, Saba Karim still feels that India cannot afford to slot him in as the third pacer in Test cricket.

"Shardul Thakur is emerging as a batting all-rounder. But I feel like he cannot be the third seamer in the attack when the team goes in with three seamers and one spinner. But when India wants to play with 2 seamers, 2 spinners, and one extra bowler, then Shardul perfectly fits in."

---

"We need to let these young players create their own identity and name" - Saba Karim on the comparisons of Shardul Thakur with Kapil Dev

Saba Karim has stated that we should not compare all-rounders like Thakur and Hardik Pandya with legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev. He stressed that younger players should be allowed to carve a niche for themselves instead.

Karim said:

"We need to let these young players create their own identity and name. They should not be compared with legends, as we all did in the case of Hardik. We can only hope that they continue to improve their skills and keep performing at a high level."

An exciting final day awaits!What do you think will be the outcome of The Oval Test? 👀#WTC23 | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/uxMUTCnTpx

— ICC (@ICC) September 6, 2021

The Oval Test between India and England is poised wonderfully for a blockbuster finish on Monday (September 6). The home team require 291 runs to win the Test on Day 5, while India have to scalp 10 wickets to register their second win in the series.