Ten balls into Shardul Thakur’s Test debut in 2018, he pulled up lame. In that moment, his future was laid out clearly ahead of him:

“And for ten points. Who can name the Indian fast bowler who couldn’t even manage two overs on debut before breaking and was never heard from or seen ever again? Anyone? Nope? Well, the answer is Shardul. Thakur. That’s Shardul Thakur.”

“Aaaah”, groans the audience in reply, “we were never gonna get that.”

This was to be the extent of Thakur’s career. The one cap wonder who never returned. The man who beat the odds of one in a billion, only to lose his lottery ticket on the way to the shop.

But, fortunes change, and Thakur’s career no longer looks set to be defined by his own injuries. But instead, the injuries of others.

His eventual and unlikely return to the Test team, in that famous match at the Gabba last year, was only possible due to the catastrophic injury crisis that India were suffering from. And even following a historic victory where he contributed seven wickets and a half-century, it was still widely accepted that he may never play a Test for India again. His status remained that of a quiz question. The only change being that at least now people would remember the answer.

However, once again he returned. First in England and now in South Africa. Belligerently defying all who have doubted him and putting in one match defining performance after another.

Today, that culminated in him writing himself into the history books, as his figures of 7-61 were the best that any Indian bowler has ever has produced against South Africa. An act that was only possible after Thakur rose to the occasion once more following an injury to Mohammed Siraj.

Schadenfreude is the German word for gaining pleasure out of others misfortune. Although you wouldn’t be surprised if it was renamed to Shardulfreude in the near future.

Overall Thakur is a player to be enjoyed rather than studied. He is no faster, skilful or physically intimidating than any of his contemporaries. And yet the ordinary ingredients are producing phenomenal results. His teammates have given him the nickname Beefy, after the former England all-rounder Ian Botham, due to his penchant for hitting sixes and his general all-round ability. And depending on the day Twitter either refers to him as Shardulkar or Lord Thakur. He is a cricketing meme turned master. A man who was given a second chance in the unlikeliest of circumstances and has never looked back.

The result is that Thakur appears, as much as one can tell from press interviews, to have a personality that contains the unlikely combination of absolute self-belief and absolute humility. Speaking to Mark Nicholas at the close of play, Thakur glowed at the opportunity he’d had to be able play as India’s third seamer following Siraj’s injury. How the added responsibility made him feel more comfortable in the role he was playing in the game. This confidence was then followed up with a pumping of the brakes ahead of what India may hope or expect from tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a new day Mark, don’t get overexcited.

“Well,” Mark Nicholas said at the end as if he’d just got off the phone to his favourite grandson, “he’s a crackerjack, isn’t he?!”

It’s worth emphasising that all this success could come crumbling down. Thakur’s average of 25 with the bat and 19 with the ball is completely unsustainable. And if it weren’t, we would be talking about a future great of the game. Furthermore, even today’s seven-for was without doubt a red-letter day. One where everything that could’ve gone right, did. But for the meantime, it’s a joy to watch a player who knows full well that whilst luck may have afforded them their second opportunity in this sport. It hasn’t been luck that has earned them their third and beyond. That much is down to them. So whether it be Beefy, Shardulkar, Lord Thakur or even Shardulfreude. You don’t need to ask anyone who Shardul Thakur is anymore. They already know.