Shardul keen to contribute with wickets instead of sealing spot in Playing XI

Shardul Thakur said he looks to keep contributing instead of focusing on sealing his place even as the seambowling allrounder made a strong case for his selection in Indias ODI World Cup squad with his performance in the Caribbean seriesShardul turned out to be the most successful bowler in the ODI series against the West Indies picking up eight wickets from three games with a best bowling figures of 437 in the decider here on TuesdayThe ODI World Cup will be held in India from October 5 to November 19 and the team management is looking to give opportunities to players to cement their places ahead of the showpieceI am happy to have picked up eight wickets in this series As a cricketer we wait for this opportunity for years sometimes you perform sometimes notWhichever series I play that always boost my confidence because I am only adding experience to my career Shardul said after the matchI never think that I have to play to seal my spot because I cant play with that mentality and I am not that type of playerIf I am not picked in the World Cup squad its their call I cannot do much about it I always try to perform for the team and play according to the situation of a matchAlso Read The name is Broad rest is pace legacy my friendShardul a rightarm seamer who bats lower down the order feels he has a role to play and that is why he has been a regular in the ODI squad in the last two yearsI think I didnt play one oneday series I mean I was not part of the team in the series against Sri Lanka at home I dont know why I wasnt picked then but I have been part of all other ODI series in the last 2 yearsI think the team expects something from me so I have been kept in the team Whenever I get a chance to play I feel the team has confidence in me so they gave me the chance to play he saidIf you look in the last few years we tend to play with a deep batting lineup so as an allrounder who bats lower down the order my job also becomes important That role is very crucialWhenever I get an opportunity I try to contribute to the teams success whether its with bat ball or in fielding At the end of the day I should be happy that I have made an effort my performances should be impactful whichever department it is he addedShardul believes that every game from here is important for India ahead of the World CupWith World Cup coming up every game that you play is going to be important from the teams perspective In batting bowling and fielding departments you are going to judge yourself you are going to score some marks for yourselfAlso the team management will be looking at you there will be few players who will be looking at selection as well For us individually also all games that we play before the World Cup are important he saidTalking about the seriesdeciding ODI Shardul said it was a complete performance from the team and especially praised Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill for their batting exploitsIn the last match as a group we had decided that we will bat first and challenge ourselves how much we can score batting first and then defend that score It didnt materialise in the last match but in todays match we put up a good scoreShubman and Ishan batted very well in powerplay They gave us a strong start and thats why we can put on a big score said the bowler who is also called Palghar ExpressWe expected a strong fight from West Indies but Mukesh Kumar 330 bowled a fine opening spell with the new ball The first three wickets were crucial We bowled as a unitYuzvendra Chahal didnt play a single match in the tour so far but Shardul believes the legspinner is a proven performerChahal is a very good player he has performed for years and proved himself But whether to play him or not is the managements decisionThe sort of player he is whenever he will play he will perform He picks up wickets in every match that he plays I dont think he will be demoralised by not playing one series he saidThe T20 leg of the tour will start here on ThursdayWith agency inputs