‘Whenever the team asks me to bat, I’m ready’ - Shardul Thakur 'enjoying' his time with KKR

Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders are giving a lot of opportunities to Shardul Thakur to show his calibre with the bat. The 31-year-old was at his magnificent best when he hit 68 runs off just 29 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier in the IPL 2023. Notably, the Nitish Rana-led side has also sent him up in order to test his skill but since the match against RCB, he is yet to make a significant contribution.

Nevertheless, the Mumbai-born cricketer revealed that he is ready to bat wherever and whenever the team management wants him to. He also talked about his love for batting and revealed that he is often padded up as the team management can send him to bat at any position. He also cited the example of the match against Punjab Kings when he had padded up to go to bat at number three.

“I always try to contribute with the bat whenever I get an opportunity. Obviously, I succeed and fail on fewer occasions. But that’s completely part and parcel of the game.” Asked about his favourite batting position, he said: “There is no preferred number, whenever the team asks me to bat I’m ready to do it. In a game like T20, I’m ready to bat at any position,” Shardul was quoted as saying by India Today.

“I padded up in a lot of games and they could have sent me at any position. I had padded up to go at No 3 against Punjab Kings. The T20 game is such that you need to be ready at any given position,” he further added.

Skipper Nitish Rana has not given Shardul enough overs to bowl in the ongoing edition. Despite that, the India international mentioned that he is enjoying his time with KKR at the moment and stated that the reason why isn’t bowling much this season.

“Overall, I’m enjoying my time at KKR. We come up with different ideas and strategies against the team, against individual batters. But it all depends how bowlers are executing their skills in the middle,” Shardul said.