Will grab opportunity with both hands: Shardul Thakur on possible ODI debut against Sri Lanka

IANS

New Delhi: Indian speedster Shardul Thakur, who was picked as part of the 15-member India squad currently playing against Sri Lanka, haven't had the opportunity to play so far but is adamant that  he should be ready to deliver whenever he gets a chance to play for the country.

Thakur, who is the fourth seamer in the Indian squad besides Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, is widely expected to make his ODI debut in the 4th match of the series at Colombo.

The belief comes considering the comments made by skipper Virat Kohli, who suggested that he would be testing the bench strength and would give chance to rookies as India have already clinched the series.

Speaking on the eve of the fourth ODI at the R. Premdasa Stadium on Wednesday, Thakur said, "Over the past few years, I have been working very hard. So whenever I get a chance to play, I should be ready."

"And keeping that perspective in mind, I always prepare for the game, whether they play or not play me, its management's role," he added.

The 25-year-old had a dream run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 10 campaign as he led the Rising Pune Supergiant to qualify for the finals before losing to Mumbai Indians.

The Palghar-born, who was previously part of the Indian Test squad during the last tour of West Indies (2016), believes that if a cricketer has skills, he can play any format of the game.

"If you have the skills, you can play any format of the game. Its only how do you cope up with the different challenges in Test match cricket, One-day cricket and T20 cricket. If you ask me, you have to evolve each and every time," he said.

"Whenever you fall back to Test cricket, you have to bowl accordingly, One-day and T20 cricket as well respectively," he added.

Riding high on confidence, India will look to continue on the winning streak and rub salt on the wounds of Sri Lanka, who are already in disarray.

Speedster Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI. His elevation comes after Chamara Kapugedera, himself a stand-in skipper, was ruled out of the remainder of the two matches with a back injury.

The right-arm pacer has previously led Sri Lanka in T20Is, taking it to the ICC World T20 title in Bangladesh in 2014, before resigning ahead of the World T20 in India in 2016.

The 34-year-old will be making his ODI captaincy debut in his 203rd match, and will look to mark the occasion with his 300th scalp, having picked up just one wicket in the first three games of the series thus far.

Kapugedera was to have led the team in the third and fourth ODIs after Upul Tharanga was suspended for those two matches for an over-rate offence during the second ODI in Pallekele.

(With ANI inputs)