India pacer Shardul Thakur has been misfortunate lately with injuries and his joy was cut short after being handed his Test debut, on Friday, in the match against West Indies in Hyderabad.
The right-arm medium pacer hobbled from the field as after suffering a groin injury while bowling. Thakur was into his second over in the first session when the incident occurred. The pacer, who was earlier also handed a place in the ODI squad, faces a battle against time to prove his fitness.
Reports claim that Thakur is in line to miss the 5-match ODI series against the Windies. It would have been a platform for him to deliver and impress the management to get to the plane for the limited-overs series to Australia, but things have definitely gone awry for the 26-year-old.
Shardul’s form and fitness are in a questionable situation at the moment and the team is likely to have a close look at him to govern the selection process accordingly. So far the selectors have been kind to the player, but things may go a different way.
Here we analyze Shardul’s situation and the issues that highlight him.
Injuries a prime concern for 26-year-old Shardul
 Getting injured twice in a space of two matches isn’t a place to be at for any cricketer. Ask Shardul, and he can relate to the agony. In the Asia Cup 2018, he played against Hong Kong, before being sent back home with a hip injury. He missed the tournament.
It was a then a likely break for the bowler to make it to the Test squad with the absence of some of the regulars. And a big opportunity arrived when the 26-year-old was handed a chance with India 1-0 up in the series.
Bowling just his 10thball of the innings, Shardul groaned in pain after landing post a delivery bowled to Kieran Powell. That was it. The physio came in to assess the bowler and the next moment he took a long road back to the pavilion to be assessed.
Shardul didn’t bowl a single delivery after that and when he came out to bat, he was in all sorts of discomfort. India won the Test match but Shardul will see this as a big miss in what was a rare chance to shine.
With many faces fighting for a spot across the three formats, Shardul hasn’t yet consolidated his place in the squad. He should thank the management for still keeping faith in him. Now it is time to go back to the drawing board and chalk out a fitness regime to suit himself.
Shardul set to miss the tour of Australia
India has its pace battery settled and the ones that will go to Australia are the same ones that traveled to South Africa earlier this year. Interestingly, all five pacers are vying for a place in the starting XI.
Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami bowled well as a trio in England. Then the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav are there too, to provide the base needed.
Umesh, in particular, was terrific in the 2ndTest against Windies, picking 10 wickets in the match. Shardul will be feeling gutted to have missed out seeing his partner putting in the shift and extracting help from the surface.
Shardul, who has warmed the bench of late, is therefore set to miss the plane to Australia for the 4-match series. It will be key for him to address his injury concerns at the moment and come back stronger.
With the quartet packed of some big names, Shardul’s next Test break looks difficult in the near future.
Shardul hasn’t impressed either in short India career
 The pacer gave away 9 runs in the 10 balls he bowled in Hyderabad and looked short of the energy he derived while being handed the India cap. The pacer also had a poor outing against Hong Kong in India’s Asia Cup 2018 opener last month.
He gave away 41 runs from just 4 overs and was taken off by skipper Rohit Sharma. The likes of Anshuman Nath and Nizakat Khan belted the off-colored pace bowler in Dubai at ease. Prior to that, Shardul was handed one match in England in the ODI series and he ended up with 1/51 from 10 overs.
Shardul’s economy rate of 6.08 in ODIs and 8.80 in T20Is are on the higher side. In 11 matches across the formats, he has 14 wickets to show in return. Many of these matches have come against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh too.
Therefore, when you follow him closely, his gentle pace and wayward line and length make it easier for batsmen to have a go. The player needs to utilize this break from injury and build his mental character to thrive in the game. Many pacers are knocking in the window, and the likes of Khaleel Ahmed & Co. will no doubt keep Shardul on his toes.
Moments for Shardul will come ice he performs well in domestic cricket, he has to seize the opportunity to grasp the same.