Twitterti has a mixed reaction to Shardul Thakur's Test debut

Paceman Shardul Thakur became the 294th player to represent India when he was handed his maiden Test cap this morning by head coach Ravi Shastri. Thakur is an aggressive quick bowler, who has the ability to swing the ball away from the right-handers. He can also hit the deck hard, and often rushes the batsmen with his skiddy pace. The speedster has established himself as the spearhead of Mumbai’s bowling attack in the domestic circuit.

With the new ball, Thakur goes straight at the batsman, which compliments perfectly with Dhawal Kulkarni’s method of bowling in the Mumbai setup. The duo was successful en route Mumbai’s 41st Ranji Trophy title, which they clinched in February 2016. Thakur picked up eight wickets in the final against Saurashtra. In particular, the delivery that removed Cheteshwar Pujara on the third day – the ball spiking sharply from a length to hit the shoulder of the bat – was quite certainly the ball of the match.

Thakur comes from a small town called Palghar, situated 87 km north of Mumbai. The pacer spent his early years lugging his kitbag on early-morning trains into the city in order to play his cricket. Interestingly, Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy in his debut season of 2012-13, but Thakur did not have a major role to play in the triumph, picking up only 4 wickets in four matches averaging a dismal 82.

The 2014-15 propelled though Thakur to the top of his game, as he led the bowling charts with 48 wickets at an impressive average of 20.81. He immediately earned himself a call-up to the India A squad for four-day games against Australia A and South Africa A. Thakur went on to make his international debut in August 2017, playing against Sri Lanka in Colombo. His maiden T20I cap came in February earlier this year, during India’s tour of South Africa.

After Shardul Thakur earned a spot in the playing XI here’s how Twitterati reacted:

Roach is available. But doesn’t get to play. Shardul makes his Test debut. Windies batting first….let’s see if Toss makes an impact on the outcome. 🤔🙌 #IndvWI

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 12, 2018

Shardul Thakur will make his Test debut. I would have picked Mayank Agarwal too. Opportune time to see what batting alternatives we have.#INDvsWI

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 12, 2018

Now from today reservation has added one additional level
1. General
2.Obc
3. Sc/St
4. Shardul Thakur #INDvWI

— Shikanji wala (@Noreservation9) October 12, 2018

Debut for Shardul Thakur! I am slightly surprised at his selection. I am not sure if it was necessary #INDvWI

— Parth (@parthmehta88) October 12, 2018

Shardul Thakur is not an international bowler he does not have pace or swing or line or length and Yadav has very little cricket sense as a cricketer but good bowler #INDvsWI

— Gurpreet Singh (@gscldh) October 12, 2018

Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur are our fast bowling options for this test match. Are we trying to get West Indies score more and give us some fight? Reverse tactics? #INDvWI

— Vinod Ramnath (@NaanumEngineer) October 12, 2018

Shardul Thakur is as gifted player as KL Rahul😂😂😂😂😂#IndVsWi

— शुभम कर्ण (@Shuvamkarn2) October 12, 2018

To be very honest, I don't rate Shardul Thakur that highly. But as far as persistence and hard-work goes, he is right up there. A terrific servant for Mumbai cricket and hopefully, his foray with the Indian Test team will be as successful.

— Bastab K Parida (@ParidaBastab) October 12, 2018

Shardul Thakur is a totally garbage bowler, but if there is one format where he has the slightest bit of chance to make an impact, it's red ball cricket.

— Abhishek (@Sajjanlaunda) October 12, 2018

I think Shardul Thakur has a leverage on Indian team and selection committee #INDvsWI #CricketMeriJaan

— PRIYAM DEORA (@PRIYAMDEORA) October 12, 2018

Mohammed siraj ko khila lete ye shardul thakur 1v wicket nahi le payega

— Ashwin kumar (@MightyAshwin) October 12, 2018

Omg! I don't want to discourage Shardul Thakur but that's one easy test cap for him. Hasn't impressed with his bowling once. But yeah. Good luck bro. Make yourself proud. #INDvWI

— नीले योद्धा(Warriors in blue) (@SirStaphAureus) October 12, 2018

#shardulthakur can take 10 wickets in this match but he is not a long term option. Waste of time. I don’t know why he keeps getting picked. Maybe he is a nice guy! #INDvWI

— Prateek Srivastava (@WCepiphany) October 12, 2018

Test debuts are being handed out like caps these days.#IndvWI #ShardulThakur

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) October 12, 2018

Kiss of pride 😍 Our Super King Shardul ​ Thakur makes his test debut today. We are expecting a Dhool performance from him @imShard #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/amyBYvUUXl

— Ravi Singh (@Iam07ravi) October 12, 2018

294th Player to represent the country in test cricket since 1932. here's wishing Shardul Thakur @imShard all the very best for his test debut and career ahead .

— Rachit Chitranshi (@rachit_chitru) October 12, 2018

Another cap ….. shardul Thakur for test .✌️ Expecting a lot .. #CSK

— Gowtham velan (@gowtham_kv) October 12, 2018

Another Bombay boy fast bowler Shardul Thakur making a debut. 73rd Bombay Test player. A hard working boy from the village of Boisar Shardul travels by train to practice at Bombay. All the best , Shardul.

— Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) October 12, 2018

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.