Shardul Thakur: Losing Brisbane Test was not an option

There were several factors that went into Indiarsquos second consecutive Test series victory in Australia And the Shardul Thakur one was not the least vitalThe Mumbai allrounder played a significant role in India conquering the Gabba fortress and there was enough reason for the celebrations not to die down in BrisbaneHe only played the Test due to an injury to Jasprit Bumrah and the Palghar Express was ready to prove his mettle He claimed seven wickets 394 and 461 in the and contributed a vital 67 in the first innings at No 8 to pull India out of the rut along with Washington Sundar 62 The duo put on a 123run stand to provide India a shot in the arm the first innings deficit reduced to 33 runs Thakur 29 had to wait for this opportunity for over two years after his debut Test lasted only 10 balls painfully walking off the field with a groin strain against West Indies at Hyderabad in 2018Head coach Ravi Shastri rightly addressed him as a ldquodebutantrdquo in his dressing room speech on TuesdayEdited excerptsHow keen were you to make this opportunity countObviously I had to make this opportunity count not just for myself but for the team as well When I went in to bat you had to look at the overall Test matchit was an important moment It would have helped us retain the BorderGavaskar Trophy and be in a good position on the ICC World Test Championship points table We had to either draw or win this game Losing was not an option So I had to make use of this opportunity make it count and help my team with my performances Would you like to be called a bowling allrounder nowYes you can call me a fastbowling allrounder because I have the ability to bat But obviously my primary job is to bowl My batting gives my team an added advantage Whatever runs I score are going to be a bonus for the teamHow pleased are you with your bowlingI am quite pleased with my bowling performance I was playing in just my second Test match so I am not too experienced I have played quite a few firstclass games 63 but playing a Test match is always different If you consider my bowling performance it was nice as I got seven wickets in the game but there is still a lot of room for improvement I would like to develop some more skills to my bowling and add some deception as well These are the two skill sets I am looking to work onWhat were you thinking when you went in to bat with India 1866 in the first inningsI was only thinking about killing timebat as much as possible Washington and I were not looking to score runs at that time We were not looking at the scoreboard initially The plan was to bat for long because the trick was to tire their bowlers as they had played in all four Test matches Eventually if we spent more time at the crease and tire their bowlers it would have got a bit easier So honestly I was just looking to bat for as long as possibleSecondly I knew that Irsquove got an opportunity to play a Test match after two years My primary job was to bowl well Even if I would have got out early no one would have judged me But I was thinking about not throwing away my wicket I wanted their bowlers to work hard for my wicket Once you are on the field you donrsquot think that you are getting an opportunity after too long and how it is going to turn out especially in such an intense game 07No of wickets claimed by Shardul Thakur in the fourth Test at Brisbane