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Each IPL season throws up talented youngsters taking the cricketing world by storm with their performances on the big stage. The cash-rich league has opened the doors for them to get a rich experience and provided a step to make their way into the Indian team.
The same happened in the recently concluded IPL 2023 where several upcoming stars set the stage on fire with their blistering performances and one such rookie was Yash Thakur.
Picked by Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2023 auction, Thakur did it all for his team with the ball. He took charge with the ball in powerplay, claimed wickets in middle overs and held his nerves in the death. LSG qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season and the 24-year-old youngster did play a crucial role for them.
Thakur played 9 matches in his debut season and claimed 13 wickets, his economy rate was a bit over 9 but considering his role in the death overs, it’s not a worrying sign for him or the team. He made his debut against Chennai Super Kings on April 3 but remained wicketless. He did open his account at the next opportunity and claimed his maiden wicket against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, it was the match against Punjab Kings where he announced his arrival on the big stage by claiming a four-fer.
In an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, Thakur opened up on his maiden IPL season, his bowling plans which helped him stop players like Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh, and sharing the dressing room with a legend like Gautam Gambhir – mentor of LSG.
Thakur reveals he didn’t watch the IPL auction live and was playing in the Ranji Trophy match for Vidarbha and his family was elated when LSG bought him for Rs 45 Lakh.
“Actually, I didn’t watch the auction, we had a Ranji Trophy match at that time. After the match, I was just driving back home that’s when I saw it on my mobile phone and so I didn’t expect that I would be picked up by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 45 Lakh. My parents were very happy and they were really grateful at that time,” Thakur told News18 CricketNext.
Thakur came into the spotlight with a decent bowling performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season where he claimed 10 wickets in 15 matches for Vidarbha.
The youngster said that his approach remains the same in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and IPL. However, he admitted having some butterflies in his stomach before making his debut for LSG.
“When I played for my state team in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, my aim was to help them win matches. The same approach I applied in the IPL too. Of course, there were some butterflies in my stomach and was a bit nervous before my first game but when I bowled my first ball everything settled down. Then I started thinking about my plans and how to execute them. That’s how I play whether it’s a domestic match or IPL,” Thakur said.
Stopping SKY and Rinku
Dismissing Suryakumar Yadav was one of the highlights for Yash in IPL 2023. He outfoxed the Mumbai Indians star batter who shuffled a bit to play the ‘Supla Shot’ but he mistimed it completely and ended up dragging the ball onto the wickets.
Thakur opened up on the plans he had to stop SKY and said the message from Krunal Pandya was also to back his skills.
“At the particular time when Suryakumar Yadav was batting we always knew if he gets set, then he will just smash us into every part of the ground. The plan was to keep it simple to him, don’t try too much. He is a smart guy and if I tried something (different) he would have smashed me for a six. Captain Krunal Pandya also told me to back my skills and at that particular time, we needed wickets. The plan was simple from my side as I didn’t want to give space to him to free his arms and I managed to hit the blockhole and get him out,” he revealed.
Young Yash was all pumped up after dismissing the batting maverick and his animated reaction after taking the wicket went viral. During the celebration, even his chain flew out from his neck.
Thakur says it was an impulsive reaction as right from the first ball all he was thinking about getting SKY out.
“The celebration was impulsive as I was just thinking about that wicket only right from the first ball of the match because Suryakumar was in great form and I knew if I get his wicket the match will turn around in my team’s favour. And I managed to get him out,” he said.
While the LSG paceman also managed to stop the ‘breakthrough star of IPL 2023’ Rinku Singh and defended 20 runs in the last over against him. It was a crucial game for LSG against Kolkata Knight Riders and Thakur’s final over helped them make it to the playoffs.
“When I came to bowl the last over I had to defend 20 runs. In the over before that Naveen-ul-Haq got hit for 20-odd runs. Rinku was in terrific form at that particular time so I was thinking of bowling wide because the off-side boundary was a bit long I was thinking about that only as the leg-side boundaries were short. I tried to do that against him and mixed it up with a bouncer as he was not expecting that from me. I have to take the chance to take a wicket, deliver the dot ball and it worked well. After that, he batted very well. I was very calm during that time as every ball matters during such situations and I took my time. Krunal Pandya also came to me and said ‘take a deep breath and think about your plan’ and I stuck to my plan only and was not thinking about anything else,” he added.
Playing Under Rahul and Krunal
Thakur made his debut under KL Rahul’s leadership but after a few matches, he flourished when Krunal took over the charge. A thigh injury forced Rahul out of the tournament midway and Krunal took over the charge.
The role changed a bit for Thakur which helped him showcase his talent in all three phases of the innings.
“KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya are aggressive captains. As a bowling group, they always want us to dominate the opposition batters, so it was not really difficult for us after Rahul was injured as KP bhai was also aggressive in his captaincy, wanting to dominate the opposition. I played nine matches and I guess only 2-3 came under Rahul bhai’s captaincy and played majorly under KP bhai. I had a different role with the ball under both captains,” he added.
Sharing dressing room with Gambhir
Thakur says the team management including mentor Gautam Gambir created a family-like atmosphere in the LSG camp.
“Before the tournament, when we reached the 10 days camp, the first line said by a coach “We are here to win the trophy and we are not here to just participate. How can we can win the trophy that’s what we have to think.” From thereon we were charged up, however, there were some ups and downs, we lost a couple of close matches which we would have won but we lost them. We always stuck together as a team and the message in the camp was to win the trophy. I was very lucky to share the dressing room with GG sir (Gautam Gambhir). His approach is very different, he always reminds us that we have to win the trophy and every single game is important in the tournament. He made sure be it an international or domestic player everyone is equal in the team. The atmosphere he created in the team was commendable – how can we work out our plans, how can we bounce back – we were like a family,” he added.
Thakur further expressed his admiration for Gambhir and recalled the words of the legendary India batter ahead of his debut match which helped him calm down.
“When I was selected in the auction, I was a bit nervous about playing under Gautam Gambhir’s guidance because I admire him since my childhood days. I was a big fan of his batting and captaincy. When I played my first match, he just told me one thing, ‘You are here because you deserve it.’ He advised me to not take much pressure and play it like any other domestic match. He was always there, whenever anyone needs him he was always there for a chat. He was available 24/7 for us, it was not like he acted like a legend and he acted like he was one of them. He guided us, whenever we got time in practice sessions he taught us various aspects of the game. He advised me to calm myself which stood out for me in IPL,” Thakur said.
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