Keeping Tendulkar’s words close to his heart, Shardul believes lessons learnt by Mumbai will help it move on
Keeping Tendulkar’s words close to his heart, Shardul believes lessons learnt by Mumbai will help it move on
As Mumbai gears up for its must-win Ranji Trophy fixture against Meghalaya, Shardul Thakur believes that all the players, irrespective of seniors or juniors, need to trust their abilities and execute their plans.
Mumbai’s title defence took a heavy blow last week when it lost to Jammu and Kashmir in a home game, but Shardul, who scored a fifty and hundred in that game, believes that it is important to take things in stride and move on.
“It is not just about the fighting spirit, but it is also about believing that when the chips are down, you can still make a game out of it and come out on top.
So, we need to trust our preparation that we have done throughout the season,” Shardul said on Wednesday.
Mumbai needs to bag a full seven points against Meghalaya and then hope for a favourable outcome from the fixture between Baroda and Jammu and Kashmir.
“On the field, everyone is the same. And, if we trust our preparations and execute our skills, I think we will be good. As a team, we have always seen that whenever we are pushed back on the walls, we always emerge out on top,” Shardul said.
“So, hoping that in this game also, we will continue with that kind of attitude which we have displayed over the years and we should be fine.”
Despite having a star-studded batting line-up, including India captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mumbai struggled with the willow as J&K’s fast bowlers made the most of the early morning conditions.
And Shardul took a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar’s book, saying: “I remember a quote by Sachin Sir where he said that till the day he retired, it was a learning curve for him in cricket. And I feel, no matter how experienced you are, you always learn something or the other from all the games that you have played.
“And especially, in the longer format because it is such an emotional roller-coaster. All the sessions are not the same. We have seen so many times that one session can take the game away from you or make the game out of any situation.
“So, even though we were on the losing side, I believe the players, those who have observed the game also must have learned a lot of things.”
