'Shardul Thakur can be a dependable all-rounder for India': Harbhajan Singh 

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur is currently under the limelight due to his phenomenal performance with bat and ball in the recently concluded Oval Test against England. It was Thakur’s late blitz of a 36 ball 57 in the first innings that propelled India to a total of 191. In the second innings, the situation was slightly different but the all-rounder showed enough composure and calmness to bag another fifty. 

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He also picked three wickets in the match and truly performed as an all-rounder for the team. Impressed by Thakur’s performance, Harbhajan Singh stated that Thakur can finally end India’s search of a bankable all-rounder after Kapil Dev. Speaking to Times of India, Harbhajan Singh said Thakur can be India’s go-to player in the coming few years.

“If he continues to work on his batting and continues to put the hard yards in his bowling, he can solve India’s problem of finding a dependable all-rounder after Kapil Dev. It’s so good to see the way he batted, and it will build his confidence going forward,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying.

The former India off-spinner further opined that Thakur should bat at number eight position in SENA-South Africa, England, Australia, and New Zealand countries, where India predominately faces issues playing two spinners. 

“I would like to see him batting at No 8 and scoring runs consistently for Team India, especially in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa, where you can’t play two spinners and someone needs to bowl too as your main fast bowler and bat also as your No. 5 to 7 batsmen. Shardul is pretty capable of doing that at No 8, where he can score runs and win games for the team,” he added.