Shardul Thakur reckons he has become a better T20 bowler over the past two years

Shardul Thakur had a successful outing in the second T20I against Sri Lanka as he showcased his variations and picked up three wickets whilst giving away only 23 runs. He combined well with Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah at the death as India restricted Sri Lanka to just 142-9 in their 20 overs and chased the target comfortably with seven wickets in hand.

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Thakur was making a comeback to T20 cricket after 22 months as he last played in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka where he was a tad expensive. However, he added a lot of variations to his bowling over that 22-month period and believes that he is a better bowler now.

"I feel T20 is such a short format, there are always going to be ups and downs. The more you play, the more experienced you get and you keep learning. Whereas first-class and Test cricket are formats where you have time to think about your game but in T20 you don't have that time," Thakur was quoted as saying after the game by TOI.

"So whenever you practice, you need to add to your strengths and keep bettering your skills. Over a period of time, while practising I have been developing my skills and brushing it up. Playing last two-three years in the IPL, and domestic cricket, I have gotten better," he further added.

Thakur picked up all three wickets in the 19th over and was extremely satisfied by the fact that whatever he wanted to execute as a bowler, he could do it at that moment in time and thus reaped the benefits.

"I just had to bowl as many dot balls (that) I could. Luckily, I got three wickets there. It is satisfying. I have been working hard for it. When it pays off in an international game, it makes me really happy," Thakur said.