Shardul Thakur’s inclusion in the first Test against England at Leeds became a talking point as cricket experts felt that the seam bowling all-rounder was underutilised by the Shubman Gill. While Thakur missed the next two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury opened the doors for his inclusion in the ongoing fourth Test at Manchester.
On the second day of the Test, Thakur made a case with the bat, contributing a vital 41 runs, but it appears that wasn’t enough to earn his captain’s trust with the ball. He was employed for only five out of 46 overs that England batted, failing to make an impact and gave away 35 runs at an economy rate of 7.
It wasn’t only Thakur, who was dealt mercilessly by the English opening pair of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who raised a 166-run first wicket stand to lay the platform for England’s strong response to India’s first innings total of 358. Fellow quicks Mohammed Siraj and Anshul Kamboj also found it tough to slow the scoring rate even as the pitch conditions changed dramatically with the skies clearing up during England’s batting.
When asked about his limited role with the ball, Thakur pointed to skipper Shubman Gill, stating that bowling decisions ultimately rest with the captain. “If we talk about the first match, he said that there was no chance of bowling. I said okay. Usually, the captain takes the calls. The player doesn’t have much of a say. Giving bowling is the captain’s call. Not in my hands. The captain decides when to give them,” he said.
Asserting that he could have bowled two more overs if handed the red cherry, the 33-year-old admitted that it was difficult to find rhythm to bowl in small patches. “As far as this match is concerned, I think the game has progressed. It could have been two more overs, but there is a lot of time left in the game. There are three days left.
“It is always difficult to find your rhythm. You don’t know how much bowling you will get and when you will get it. But whatever experience you have, you will try to use that experience to bowl,” he added.