Ranji Trophy 2023-24: I’m at all times motivated to play Ranji Trophy or Vijay Hazare, says Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur missed out on a big a part of the Ranji Trophy attributable to an ankle harm throughout India’s tour of South Africa, however he returned to motion throughout Mumbai’s outing towards Chhattisgarh in Raipur final week.

Though he proved costly with figures of 0-77, Shardul contributed with scores of 11 and 31 and bolstered the decrease center order. However, as Shardul gears up for Mumbai’s final group league fixture towards Assam, the seasoned campaigner makes it clear that he doesn’t wish to select a selected format and plans to characteristic in each recreation that comes his method.

“Why choose formats? My primary job is to play cricket and whatever is there in front of me, I am going to play that. It will never be about choosing formats for me,” Shardul advised reporters on Thursday.

After the South Africa tour, outdated ankle surgical procedure resurfaced, forcing a protracted layoff. “Its basically wear and tear injury. I have had surgery on the same leg for my ankle earlier back in 2019. So, after scanning in the NCA, we also sent the reports to the surgeon who had operated me and he clearly sent out a note that it’s a wear and tear injury and the ankle can get inflamed at any point of time,” he mentioned.

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“Unfortunately it happened to me while returning from South Africa. I started experiencing pain while walking, so I reported to the NCA and then a further course of action was taken…”

With Mumbai assured of a spot within the quarterfinals already, the workforce will count on Shardul to play a key function within the quest for title glory. “I am playing cricket for passion. I am not playing the game on the assumption that I will play for India in the World Cup. It does not work like that. India is a vast country, and there are a lot of players who are vying for that spot and there are going to be changes. At times, I will be selected in the Indian team. I will be asked to perform over there. Sometime, I will be playing Ranji Trophy…it’s about playing cricket and that’s my passion,” he mentioned.

“As long as I’m playing cricket, I’m happy. Back in the days when I was just playing Ranji Trophy, I played local cricket in my village. There is no harm in playing any formats. I don’t need any motivation to play Ranji Trophy or Vijay Hazare…I’m happy to play cricket…I’m always motivated.”