With
his
knock
at
the
Oval,
Thakur
–
who
slammed
a
match-winning
fifty
in
his
debut
Test
at
the
Gabba
–
proved
his
batting
performance
in
Australia
wasn’t
a
fluke
and
that
he
has
worked
really
hard
in
this
department.

Shardul’s
knock
was
studded
with
some
classical
backfoot
drives,
cover
drives
and
straight
drives
and
gave
even
top-order
batsmen
a
run
for
their
money.
In
an
interview
with
the

Indian
Express,
Thakur
revealed
when
was
the
time
he
started
focussing
on
his
batting
skills.

Talking
about
the
improvement
in
his
batting
skills,
Thakur
said,
“When
I
injured
my
ankle
two
years
ago,
it
was
decided
that
I
need
to
take
my
batting
seriously.
I
had
the
ability
in
me
and
going
ahead
I
wanted
to
contribute
in
the
lower
order.
I
told
myself,

‘kuch
bhi
ho
jaye,
batting
mein
acha
karna
he
padega’.
In
the
past,
there
were
opportunities
that
came
with
the
bat
too
but
somehow,
I
couldn’t
make
an
impact.
I
told
myself

‘aisa
nahi
chalega’.
Lower
order-batsman
contributing
always
helps,
and
there
have
been
many
instances
where
40-50
runs
make
a
huge
difference.”

Talking
about
the
role
Team
India’s
throwdown
specialists
Raghu
and
Nuwan
played
to
help
him
improve
his
batting
techniques,
the
Mumbai
cricketer
said,
“When
I
made
my
comeback
in
the
Indian
team,
I
practised
with
our
throw
down
specialists
Raghu
and
Nuwan
–
they
are
very
quick.
Initially,
I
wasn’t
able
to
play
them.
I
tried
to
improve
my
footwork
when
I
faced
them
and
slowly-slowly
my
batting
improved.
The
more
I
played
them
the
more
I
got
adjusted
to
the
pace.
Whatever
runs
I
have
scored
so
far,
there
has
been
a
process
that
I
have
followed,
it’s
not
a
coincidence
or
stroke
of
luck.”

The
right-handed
batsman
went
on
revealing
how
a
valuable
suggestion
from
his
Chennai
Super
Kings
captain
MS
Dhoni
helped
him
fine-tune
his
batting.
He
also
thanked
senior
India
players
Virat
Kohli
and
Rohit
Sharma
for
motivating
him.

“There
have
been
people
from
the
Indian
team
management,
Virat,
Rohit,
who
kept
on
motivating
me.
They
all
said
that
whenever
I
bat,
I
should
think
the
way
batsmen
think.
Once
I
was
in
Mahi
bhai’s
(Mahendra
Singh
Dhoni)
room
and
holding
his
bat.
He
told
me
that
my
batting
grip
is
too
high
and
I
need
to
hold
it
lower
to
get
better
control
over
the
shot.
Now
I
hold
my
bat
there
and
it
helps,”
he
added
further.