Mumbai: Leaving the ODI series hammering in New Zealand behind, pacer Shardul Thakur exuded plenty of confidence Monday. He asserted that he will learn from his ‘mistakes’ and passionately work towards helping India win the World T20.
Shardul gave away plenty of runs in the recent ODIs against the Black Caps and faced criticism for his wayward bowling. He now has his eyes set on the showpiece in Australia later this year.
“Certainly I have my eyes on the World Cup. The positivity that I bring into the game and the amount of confidence I have, the way I am passionate about the game will help the team to win the World Cup or at least do the job fairly,” Shardul told reporters here.
Shardul, who has 21 wickets from 15 T20Is, said playing in the IPL is important and he will look to take forward the momentum he gains in the cash-rich league, starting in March end.
“Definitely, the IPL is important and the momentum we gain from the IPL will be crucial going forward. There is the Sri Lanka T20s coming up and we are going to Zimbabwe after IPL. Then we are playing Asia Cup going into T20 World Cup,” informed Shardul who plays for the Chennai Super Kings.
“So whatever momentum we gain from IPL will be important and will be crucial going ahead. We just need to carry (it) forward in the tournaments after IPL,” Shardul said at a promotional event here.
Shardul did not have the best of times in ODIs in New Zealand and he said he would take it as a learning experience.
“I will evaluate my mistakes and consider them as learning experiences. It was only my first trip to New Zealand and as compared to the others, I have not played as many games for India,” Shardul stated.
“Currently, I am just into that phase where I am gaining experience and going forward, I will try to produce greater contributions for the team’s cause,” added the fast bowler.
Of late, Shardul has won India games with his batting and he reminded that he has done it in the past, too, in school and university level.
“I always believed that I could bat and make useful contributions for the team. Whenever I played for my school, college or domestic team, the role never changes. If I am playing international cricket, my role remains the same. I try and bat according to the situation I go in,” informed Shardul.
PTI
