In a match simulation Chennai Super Kings had before the tournament commenced, pacer Shardul Thakur was made to bowl at the death overs in both innings bowling a total of 10 overs under the watchful eyes of coach Stephen Fleming.
Though he struggled with finding his yorkers and ended up bowling a few full tosses, Fleming then said, “I do see Thakur as a bowler for the slog overs and he’s done it for India. The challenge for those two players (Thakur and Deepak Chahar) is to find their consistency in performance.”
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While Chahar has been effective with the new ball, Thakur is still trying to find that consistency and it means the team often has to rely on Dwayne Bravo to do the heavy lifting at the end. On Saturday, with Mumbai Indians needing 22 off the last two, Thakur went for 16 in the 19th over and made it easy for MI.
Though Thakur had some good games, like the one against Rajasthan Royals (2/18), he has often struggled in the end against KKR and RCB, where his last two overs cost 29 and 38 runs after good starts in his first two.
When asked if Thakur’s form is a worry, Fleming on Saturday said, “Yes he has been inconsistent at the death. While he made some good gains there is still some inconsistency. We have worked hard on getting his planning right more than anything. He is a work in progress.”
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Fleming also conceded that team needs to find more than one bowler who can do that job saying, “We need to find a couple of bowlers, not just Thakur who can do that job. At the same time, we show faith in players. Chucking players in and out doesn't solve the problem.”
He further added, “But we will assess again and make sure the numbers stack up. Otherwise, we will look to make a change.”
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