Following his team's 42nd Ranji Trophy title win, Mumbai and India all-rounder Shardul Thakur said that he now looks forward to learning things under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as he gears up to play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) this year.
The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Mumbai all-rounder Shardul will be returning to the franchise that made him a star and a team with which he won two IPL titles during his stint from 2018-21.
Speaking to ANI after the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Shardul said, "Whenever you win a trophy, your confidence increases and it gives you an edge over other teams and players. You have a lot of confidence. We as players make an effort to continue the momentum we get from our performances."
"I do not have a plan of action for the IPL. Dhoni sahab is there. He is one of the greatest cricketers ever in the world. I will play under him again and I have played under him before, so I will try to learn a lot of things and how he gets performance out of players."
Thakur lauded spin-bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian for his performances with both bat and ball throughout the Ranji season.
"Tanush Kotian in batting and bowling, got breakthroughs when he came out to bowl, he did not take five or six wickets every time but he claimed one or two crucial wickets throughout the season. He came at number 9 and 10 and scored over 500 runs which is brilliant. There has hardly been a season when a lower-order batter scores 500 runs. He has proved that he is an all-rounder," said Shardul.
In five Ranji matches this season, Shardul scored 255 runs in eight innings at an average of 31.87, with a century and a fifty and a best score of 109. He also took 16 wickets in the tournament. He scored a century against Tamil Nadu in the semi-final, continuing his series of fine performances in big matches, something he has also done for the Indian team in Test cricket.
