Shardul Thakur: When Musheer Khan walked into the Ranji Trophy team, we felt that he's already ready
Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur has hailed young batter Musheer Khan for his fabulous performances in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy 2024. Praising the 19-year-old, he said that Musheer seemed a ready product as soon as he walked into the Mumbai team.
Musheer, who represented India at the U-19 World Cup in South Africa, was instrumental in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy 2024 triumph. The batting all-rounder scored a double hundred in the quarterfinal against Baroda (203*, first innings) and a crucial half-century (55, first innings) in the semifinal against Tamil Nadu.
He was the Player of the Match in the final against Vidarbha for scoring 136 runs and claiming two wickets in the second innings. In a post-match interaction with the now-retired Dhawal Kulkarni on bcci.tv, Thakur acknowledged Musheer's crucial contributions and commented:
"The youngsters that we have in the team are really amazing to see. Musheer, the way he showed his talent ... You know, when he walked into the Ranji Trophy team, we felt that he is already ready.
"Ready in the sense, ready to take on the bowlers. He has a good understanding of the situation already. He has the potential that's required at the highest level."
After Mumbai set Vidarbha a huge target of 538, Musheer chipped in with the ball as well, claiming the key scalps of Aman Mokhade and Karun Nair.
"Really glad that I could contribute something" - Thakur
Like in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinal, Mumbai were in trouble with the bat in the final as well when Thakur walked in and slammed a defining 75.
Reflecting on his performance, the all-rounder said that he's always ready to contribute to the team.
"I am really glad that I could contribute something for the team. That's the kind of player I would love to be known as. I am glad to just score those 75 runs in the first innings, and I thought it set the game up for us beautifully," Thakur told Kulkarni.
Speaking of Kulkarni, he got the last wicket to fall in the final, ending his first-class career in fairy-tale fashion. Opening up about his emotions during the last few moments of his domestic career, the pacer said:
"This entire game was quite emotional because I knew that I was going to play the last first-class game. But at the same time, winning was important. We had worked really hard, and we won in the end.
"When I held the ball in my hand, I got quite emotional. I wanted an end like this - to pick a wicket in the last over that I bowled, and, luckily, I got that wicket," Kulkarni added.
The 35-year-old Kulkarni ended his first-class career with 281 wickets in 95 games at an average of 27.31.