Birthday boy Shardul Thakur is a top-notch all-rounder who can navigate seamlessly between formats. His finest hour in the relatively short international career so far has to be the fourth Test between India and Australia last year, when he took the hosts by storm both with the bat and ball. Shardul bagged three wickets in Australia’s first innings and then top-scored with a 67 as he joined forces with Washington Sundar to stage a valiant rearguard action on the third day to keep India in the hunt. The lower-order partnership paved the way for India’s epoch-making victory at Gabba, Brisbane.
