Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has showered praise on Shardul Thakur after his fine performance in the third ODI against New Zealand. Thakur scalped three wickets in the final ODI of the series to help India win by 90 runs.

The right-arm medium pacer accounted for Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips. New Zealand was on the right track in the run-chase as they were 184-2 at one stage. However, Thakur took these three wickets in quick succession to put the home team in front. The Kiwis lost three wickets for only 16 runs and it was the turning point of the game.

Furthermore, Thakur played a little cameo of 17-ball 25 to help India post 385 runs on the board. The right-hander added 54 runs with Hardik Pandya.

“If you ask Shardul, he will be the No. 1. He bowled really well. He is a trier; he keeps trying. When you see him, you will always feel that he doesn’t have that kind of swing, he doesn’t have that kind of pace which is 140-plus consistently, but he will always be in your face and he wants to keep taking wickets,” said Pathan on Star Sports.

“You want guys like him in the team as well. With him, especially when you are talking about the World Cup, you need at least six-seven options in your hand as far as the team combination is concerned,” Pathan added.

Thakur was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-around performance. Pathan added Thakur’s ability to provide runs while batting at number eight will make him a potential candidate for the ODI World Cup.

“If you ask me that particular question about Shardul Thakur, because of that batting ability at No. 8, he should certainly be there in that group of players who are going to be keeping their hands up and saying that they should be there in the World Cup as well,” said Pathan.

Shardul Thakur is not part of the T20I series against New Zealand. The first T20I will be played in Ranchi on Friday.