'I can't quite express the feeling…': Yash Thakur on his maiden call-up

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Team India is all set to lock horns with Zimbabwe in the second T20I match on Saturday at the Harare Sports Club.

Ahead of the match, pacer Yash Thakur spoke about earning his first-ever Team India call-up for the ongoing shortest format’s series. The cricketer said that he had just landed in Nagpur along with Harsh Dubey and started receiving messages and calls from his friends about his selection.

“Harsh Dubey (his Vidarbha teammate) and I had just landed in Nagpur. As I was collecting my luggage and heading out, my phone started buzzing with messages, and I got a call from my friends. They told me, ‘You got selected!’ and congratulated me. I did not know anything about it at that moment, so I checked online and realised I had been selected for the Zimbabwe tour. It was a surreal feeling,” he said on JioStar.

Further, the Kolkata-born cricketer said that he has progressed step by step from each level in domestic cricket to finally donning the national colours. The pacer also feels that all the hard work he has done to reach the national level has paid off.

“I have progressed step by step, from Under-19 cricket, through the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, IPL, India A, and now into the Indian team. Each level brought its own challenges, and I worked hard to clear every hurdle. Climbing every single step makes me feel very happy. I can’t quite express the feeling right now, because playing for the country is everyone’s dream when they start playing cricket. To finally be here, wearing the India jersey, feels like all the hard work has paid off,” said Thakur.

Currently, the “Men in Blue” are leading the three-match T20I series by 1-0 against Zimbabwe.

IND vs ZIM 2nd T20I: Full squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Yash Thakur, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (C), Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (WK), Richard Ngarava, Wesley Madhevere, Milton Shumba, Dion Myers, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Ben Curran, Tadiwanashe Marumani (WK), Tanaka Chivanga, Brian Bennett, Newman Nyamhuri.

(With ANI Inputs)

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