NEWS
Follow UsYash Thakur’s rise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is nothing short of a fairytale. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) picked the 25-year-old after fighting with Punjab Kings for just INR 45 lakhs. At that point, he had T20 numbers that were enviable, averaging 14.4, with an economy of 6.7.
In fact, he came with the tag of being an all-phase bowler, which made him even more enticing for the Super Giants, who wanted to strengthen their bowling unit. After a lukewarm start to the 2024 IPL season, the Vidarbha pacer finally came good on Sunday (April 7) against the Gujarat Titans with his first five-wicket haul in the tournament.
All of this despite him missing his pace partner, Mayank Yadav, who has caused ripples in the tournament thus far. So, what was the message from the captain?
"Once Mayank went, Rahul sir told me that this could be my day and that I could win the game for the side. He told me to back myself and told me to back the controllables instead of worrying about what I can't control," said Thakur at the post-match press conference.
Unlike Mayank, who can crank up the pace for fun, Thakur is more known for his ability to hit the deck and puzzle the opposition with some nifty change-ups.
"Very few can bowl at the speeds that he (Mayank) does, it is a God-given gift. I know my limitations and my strengths. I just back my strengths.”
"My focus this season is to have clarity in my plans. I've tried to keep things simple instead of thinking too many things at a time. I've tried to only focus on the things that I can control,” he added.
Lucknow is one of those venues in the country which is known to aid slower bowlers. While Manimaran Siddharth sowed the seeds of doubt with some tidy bowling, Thakur ran through the Gujarat batting unit on the back of his slower deliveries, which were disguised to perfection.
"We felt that the pitch was on the slower side and possibly getting slower through the game. We discussed our plans and the idea was to stick to it even if runs were being scored off it. We were getting success from our variations and his (Rahul) advice was to persist with it," Thakur said.
13 years of toil at the sport ultimately took the Vidarbha man to the IPL, and he didn’t want any of that to go to waste. He even showed a level of maturity, stating that he doesn’t take the ‘pressure of expectations’ as a concern.
"I don't take the pressure of expectations as a concern. Rather I'm happy when people outside or my team expects me to win games. I enjoy this responsibility of winning games for the team."
