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Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Rajat Bhatia heaped praise on Shardul Thakur for his incredible knock of 68(29) against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Eden Gardens on Thursday. This cameo gave KKR some much-needed impetus and deflated the confidence of the RCB bowlers.
Bhatia was also delighted by Thakur's performance as he has seen him showing shades of a pure all-rounder for Mumbai in domestic cricket. The former Delhi cricketer feels that if groomed well, Thakur could become the seam-bowling all-rounder India want alongside Hardik Pandya.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after Kolkata's win over RCB, here's what Rajat Bhatia had to say about Shardul Thakur's performance with the bat:
"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."
"Never ever write off a former champion like KKR" - Rajat Bhatia
Rajat Bhatia praised the Kolkata Knight Riders for bouncing back after their disappointing defeat in the opening game against Punjab Kings. He felt the crowd at the Eden Gardens and the presence of co-owner and Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan pushed the hosts to give their best.
On this, Bhatia stated:
"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."
Bhatia also recalled how Shahrukh Khan cared about his players just after the Knight Riders were knocked out of the IPL 2011 playoffs. He said:
"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 a year later."
The win against RCB will definitely have boosted the morale of the Knight Riders and they will look to carry this momentum forward.
