Chennai Super Kings proved yet again why they are the most consistent IPL team of all time. Over the year, only once did CSK fail to reach the Playoffs, which was last year, but always known to stage a fabulous comeback, CSK did exactly that in IPL 2021, winning the title by beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the final in Dubai on Friday.

While most of the focus of CSK’s triumph was built towards Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar, one person that went under the radar is Shardul Thakur. The fast bowler picked up 21 wickets from 15 matches to emerge as the highest wicket-taker of the season for CSK, ensuring that his career graph maintained its upward curve.

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Impressed with Thakur’s progress, former India batsman Virender Sehwag lauded the 30-year-old and credited his association with CSK and its captain MS Dhoni for the terrific turnaround in his career. Sehwag feels Thakur has turned over a new leaf since joining CSK, which has seen him grab 55 wickets for the four-time IPL champions.

“He is CSK’s highest wicket-taker this season. He came to bowl the 11th over where he took two wickets and the game changed from there. His fortunes have changed ever since he has joined Chennai Super Kings. He’s played most of his cricket for India after playing for CSK,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

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And rightly so. Thakur was acquired by CSK in 2018, and although he had represented the national team in ODIs and T0Is earlier, the same year, he went on to make his Test debut later in November. Although it took Thakur to cement his place in the team, Thakur has produced a good case for himself with both bat and ball, scoring three half-centuries and picking 14 wickets from four Tests.

“Before joining CSK, he used to be in and out of the team, but having played for Chennai, he entered the Indian Test team, the one-day side, and the T20 unit as well. Like I said, his fortunes have changed, not only because he has played for CSK but also because he has picked up wickets and performed well,” added Sehwag.