Shardul Thakur is the Indian version of Andre Russell: Rajat Bhatia

After a stunning show against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, Shardul Thakur has become the talk of the town. The flamboyant all-rounder triggered an onslaught, scoring 68 runs off just 29 deliveries as the Kolkata Knight Riders posted 204 after 20 overs and eventually won the match by a massive margin of 81 runs.

Meanwhile, after the match, former IPL winner Rajat Bhatia termed Thakur as the “Indian version” of Andre Russel. The 31-year-old also stated that the Indian selectors should consider him a proper pace bowling all-rounder alongside Hardik Pandya.

“He (Shardul) is the Indian Russell. He seems to have taken the muscle from Russell. I have seen him bat for Mumbai, but the way he is batting now, we can say we have another (seam-bowling) all-rounder. I hope we start looking at him that way,” Bhatia told Cricbuzz.

Never ever write off a former champion like KKR: Rajat Bhatia

Batting first, KKR were in deep trouble soon after the halfway mark. They lost five of their top six batters but that’s when Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur stepped up and delivered a match-winning performance. Speaking about the same, Bhatia stated that one should never write off a champion team like KKR.

“Never ever write off a former champion like KKR. They needed a reaction after the loss to Punjab and in front of their home crowd and their boss (Shahrukh Khan) watching, they beat RCB comprehensively. Didn’t really see any partnership from RCB as their chase gradually fell apart,” the 43-year-old added.

Bhatia also recalled how team owner Shah Rukh Khan cared a lot about all the players during his playing days and made them believe that there was going to be no pressure from the management. He believes that it is one of the reasons why KKR won the trophy in 2012.

“For the three years I played at KKR, we never felt that we were out of the tournament. Even in 2011 when we were knocked out by Mumbai in the qualifiers (playoffs) Shahrukh Khan called us to their house. We realized that there wasn’t going to be any pressure from the owners and that helped us become champions the year later,” Bhatia concluded.