IND vs SA 2022: "Don't see him becoming India's No.1 or No.2 bowler in white-ball cricket" - Saba Karim on Shardul Thakur

Former wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim feels Shardul Thakur can only be in India's white-ball lineup as a third seamer, and not as a prime fast-bowling option.

Saba suggested that while Thakur could be groomed for the bowling all-rounder's role, he cannot be a backup option for someone like Hardik Pandya, who is more of a batter who can bowl a few overs.

Saba made these remarks while speaking at a discussion on India News Sports on Friday, October 7. He said:

"He is a very useful player. But Hardik Pandya is a batting all-rounder, while Shardul Thakur is a bowling all-rounder. That's a big difference. We can surely groom Shardul.

"But I don't see him becoming India's No.1 of No.2 bowler in white-ball cricket. He can only play as a third seamer. If he can bat well, it will be an added advantage."

Thakur impressed many with his all-round exploits in the ODI series opener against South Africa on Thursday, October 6. The right-arm pacer was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the rain-curtailed 40-over game, picking up two wickets and conceding just 35 runs from his full quota of eight overs.

He made a significant impact with the bat as well during the run chase, scoring 33 runs off 31 balls. Thakur stitched together a crucial 93-run partnership with Sanju Samson to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.

However, the Men in Blue failed to chase down 250, suffering a nine-run loss in the opening encounter of the three-match series.

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"There's no need to put pressure on him all the time" - Saba Karim on Shikhar Dhawan's place in India's ODI team

Saba went on to say that India's stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan is expected to be a part of the squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup in 2023 on home soil.

He opined that the Indian think tank will go ahead with the experienced duo of Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for the showpiece event.

The 54-year-old emphasized that people shouldn't put pressure on Dhawan after a couple of failures. He added that the southpaw's place in the ODI team seems to be confirmed, and he expects the seasoned campaigner to feature in the format consistently.

He remarked:

"Shikhar Dhawan's place in the team has been confirmed. There's no need to put pressure on him all the time. There will be one or two matches where he won't score runs.

"I think the selectors have decided that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will be the openers in the next 50-over World Cup."

Dhawan is currently leading the Men in Blue in their ongoing ODI series against South Africa in the absence of regular skipper Rohit, who is in Australia for the T20 World Cup. The southpaw was dismissed for just four runs in the first fixture.