Shardul Thakur reveals how Rohit’s ‘sign language’ helped him during Gabba knock

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur recently revealed how Rohit Sharma’s sign language helped him during his famous knock at the Gabba, Brisbane in 2021. Notably, Playing just his second Test, Thakur stitched a crucial 123-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar which helped India get closer to Australia’s first innings total of 369.

Thakur walked in to bat with India reeling on 186/6 and played a magnificent knock of 67 (115) smashing nine fours and two sixes. Recently, the all-rounder opened up on his famous knock and revealed how Sharma was letting him know which players were getting tired through sign language from the dugout.

AUS vs IND 3rd Test Day 1 Live

“Rohit was talking to me in sign language from the dugout. He would indicate when a bowler was tiring or coming to the end of his spell. Like, I think that happened when Hazlewood was coming to the end of a spell. Rohit asked me to wait and not push to play shots,” Shardul told The Cricket Monthly.

Further speaking ahead, Thakur shared the incident from the second innings when he failed to finish the game and got a scolding from Rohit.

“I was riding high on confidence from the first-innings performance. Unfortunately, attempting to hit over the leg side, I top-edged. I had picked two runs off a similar sort of delivery, which I had flicked off the hips. The pressure was once again on. When I headed to the dugout, Rohit scolded me for not finishing it, but I defended myself saying I was not playing a rash shot,” he added.

Shardul Thakur went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction

Thakur also picked up seven wickets in the match at an average of 22.14 including figures of 4/61 in the second innings. Courtesy of his performance and vital contributions from other players, India managed to end Australia’s 32-year-long unbeaten streak at the Gabba and won their second consecutive Test series in Australia.

Meanwhile, Thakur recently went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction as none of the ten franchises showed any interest in him. The all rounder had kept his base price at Rs 2 crore and found no bidders for him after being released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the auction. He’s currently playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Mumbai and has picked 13 wickets from eight matches at an average of 25.15. Earlier, he picked 14 wickets from five matches (10 innings) in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 and scored 127 runs from five innings.

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