"There is a place vacant for the World Cup" - Aakash Chopra feels Shardul Thakur might have sealed his spot as India's 4th pacer

Aakash Chopra reckons Shardul Thakur might have sealed his place as the fourth pacer in India's squad for the upcoming World Cup 2023.

Shardul registered figures of 4/37 in 6.3 overs as the Men in Blue thrashed the West Indies by 200 runs in the deciding game of the three-match ODI series in Trinidad on Tuesday, August 1. The seam-bowling all-rounder picked up eight wickets at a reasonable economy rate of 5.31 in the three ODIs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that a seamer's place in India's World Cup squad was up for grabs ahead of the West Indies series. He stated:

"You need to praise Lord Thakur a lot. Lord Thakur has picked up the most wickets for India in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup. The good thing is that there is a place vacant for the World Cup. The question was who can be the fourth fast bowler after (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammad) Shami and (Mohammed) Siraj."

The former Indian opener feels Shardul Thakur might have pipped Umran Malik to that spot, elaborating:

"It seems like Lord Thakur has become the answer to that question currently. Umran Malik has fallen behind in that list suddenly, although he might do well in the T20s and we start talking about him, but for now it seems like Lord Thakur's World Cup looks almost confirmed."

Umran had an indifferent ODI series against the Windies. He went wicketless and conceded 44 runs in the six overs he bowled in the first two ODIs and was dropped for the final game.

---

"Lord Thakur is not just about wicket-taking luck" - Aakash Chopra on the factors that make Shardul Thakur successful

Shardul Thakur has picked up 58 wickets in 38 ODIs.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Shardul Thakur's success cannot be attributed to pure luck, explaining:

"Lord Thakur is not just about wicket-taking luck. There are many important factors that make him so successful with both bat and ball. First is just immense self-belief. He gets hit but definitely picks up wickets. He picks up wickets because he shows the courage to bowl wicket-taking balls."

The reputed commentator pointed out that the Palghar-born bowler believes he is a combination of the best seamers and all-rounders in cricket history, observing:

"He is a concoction of Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev, he has so much confidence - 'If you give me the ball, it doesn't matter who is playing in front of me, what sort of partnership has been stitched and what the conditions are, I will deliver and take a wicket'."

Chopra highlighted that Shardul does not refrain from bowling bouncers to pick up wickets even though he might get hit for a six. He added that the right-arm seamer is also willing to bowl full deliveries to entice the batters to play drives and get them bowled or leg-before-wicket in the process.