Shardul
returned
with
fine
figures
of
7/61,
his
best
bowling
figures
in
Tests,
as
India
bundled
out
the
hosts
for
229
on
the
second
day
of
the
second
Test
at
the
Wanderers
in
Johannesburg.
It
was
Lad
with
whom
‘Lord
Shardul’ or
‘Palghar
Express’,
as
he
is
fondly
called
now
for
his
reputation
as
a
partnership
breaker,
stayed
with
in
Mumbai
during
his
formative
years.
An
elated
Lad
told
PTI
on
Tuesday,
“I
did
no
specific
work
with
him,
but
(I
worked)
on
his
mental
strength.
I
remember
when
he
was
taken
for
the
IPL,
and
he
didn’t
play
for
Kings
XI
Punjab
(now
Punjab
Kings),
he
would
be
frustrated
and
say
‘they
don’t
play
me’.
“I
used
to
tell
him
it’s
okay,
they
have
selected
you
and
it
is
important
for
you
to
practise
with
bigger
players.”
The
30-year-old
made
his
Test
debut
against
West
Indies
in
October
2018,
but
had
to
wait
for
his
next
chance
for
a
considerable
amount
of
time.
Lad,
who
is
also
the
childhood
coach
of
India’s
white-ball
captain
Rohit
Sharma,
had
just
one
advice
for
Shardul
after
he
made
the
national
breakthrough
—
“don’t
do
anything
different”.
“When
he
was
(first)
selected
for
the
West
Indies
tour,
at
that
time
I
had
only
told
him
don’t
do
anything
different.
The
way
you
have
bowled
at
the
Ranji
Trophy
till
now,
the
same
way
you
have
to
bowl,”
he
recalled.
“You
have
now
become
big
(and)
at
that
moment,
you
will
do
something
different
and
that
will
affect
your
bowling.
Better
way,
do
the
same
things,
by
which
you
have
grown
up
and
he
kept
listening
(to
the
advice),”
revealed
Lad,
one
of
the
finest
coaches
in
the
domestic
circuit.
“There
was
no
specific
discussion,
he
kept
on
learning.
About
bowling,
I
told
him
make
the
batter
play,
the
more
you
make
the
batter
play,
more
the
chances
of
you
getting
wickets,”
quipped
Lad.
Shardul,
apart
from
being
a
pacer,
is
now
a
handy
batsman,
who
can
chip
in
with
much-needed
runs,
as
he
showed
in
Gabba
last
year
against
Australia
and
Lad
remembered
how
he
worked
on
his
grip.
“I
changed
his
top-end
grip
and
he
benefited
from
it.
But
he
worked
on
it,
he
understood
what
I
was
saying
and
he
worked
on
it.
He
was
a
hard-hitting
batter,
but
once
he
started
playing
with
a
straight
bat,
he
got
to
know
that
he
could
stay
on
the
wicket
and
do
anything,”
recollected
Lad.
Shardul,
who
has
now
played
in
all
three
formats
for
India
and
is
a
regular
member
of
the
national
team,
hails
from
Palghar
but
it
was
on
the
insistence
of
Lad
that
he
stayed
at
his
Mumbai
house.
“When
I
saw
him,
he
played
in
a
match
against
my
school,
after
that
I
insisted
that
(he
should
stay
with
me)
as
travelling
was
an
issue.
I
convinced
my
wife
about
Shardul
staying
at
our
place.
One
thing
I
am
proud
of
is
that
I
knew
that
this
kid
would
do
wonders
and
hence
I
kept
him
at
my
place,”
said
Lad.
“Had
I
not
taken
that
decision
at
that
time,
maybe
Shardul
would
have
played
there
(at
his
town).
My
vision
was
if
this
boy
came
to
Mumbai,
he
would
play
big
cricket
and
since
it
was
fulfilled,
I
was
elated,”
Lad
said.
Lad,
the
father
of
Siddhesh
Lad,
also
a
known
name
in
the
domestic
circuit,
said
that
Shardul
was
talented
and
he
kept
motivating
him.
“Shardul
justified
his
talent.
Had
I
not
brought
him
to
Mumbai,
no
one
would
have
seen
Shardul,”
the
senior
Lad
signed
off.
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