T20 World Cup: When ex-England captain Michael Vaughan compared Indian star with Ian Botham

Ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign, Shardul Thakur was added to the main squad of the Indian cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had informed. Thakur had replaced Axar Patel, who is now on the list of stand-by players. 

Thakur earned praises for his outstanding run during the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he was the leading wicket-taker for his team with 21 scalps and emerged as a vital cog at several instances. 

When the IPL 2021 tournament was underway, former England captain Michael Vaughan had praised Thakur. During a conversation in the first week of October, Vaughan, while speaking to the Cricbuzz, said, "Last week I was with Lord Botham and he is a true lord. Thakur is very similar to Ian Botham."

"He gets the ball in his hands and makes things happen. He did it in the Test series, he did it in the IPL. The mentor of the Indian T20 team is behind the stumps. He was captaining him. He was probably on the phone with Virat and Ravi talking about him, saying 'come on'. He (Shardul) has that ability to make things happen," Vaughan said. 

"He must have a very good deception of pace because you watch him and it's like 'yeah, it's pretty normal. But he has that deception like Ashwin. He bowls and it goes through quickly, bowls cross-seam and goes through quickly. He has that ability to surprise the batter and those subtle variations that we can't pick up," added Vaughan. 

Vaughan on Wednesday (October 20) said that the Eoin Morgan-led side needs to find a way to maximise the first six overs if they are to win the ICC Men`s T20 World Cup. 

The former England captain also said that Dawid Malan needs to get on with his innings or Jonny Bairstow should bat at number three. 

"England need to find a way of maximising the first 6 overs better ... If Malan is going to chew up so many balls in the power play he needs to either get on with it or Bairstow should Bat 3 ... #T20WorldCup," tweeted Vaughan. 

In the ongoing warm-up match between England and New Zealand, the former posted a total of 163/6, owing to Jos Buttler's knock of 73. 

Malan ended up scoring 11, but not before chewing 15 balls, On the other hand, Bairstow scored 30 from 21 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes. 

England had lost its first warm-up game against India by seven wickets on Monday. 

The Morgan-led outfit will open its T20 World Cup campaign on Saturday against West Indies. 

(With inputs from agencies)