He bowled just 16 overs across two innings in Leeds Test.
Former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu lambasted the Indian team management for picking Shardul Thakur in the Playing XI for the ENG vs IND 4th Test at Old Trafford. India made three changes in the lineup for the Manchester Test, including a couple of forced ones due to injuries. Shardul replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy in the XI after the latter was ruled out due to a knee injury. The decision did not sit well with Sidhu, who criticised India’s recent all-rounders-centric approach in Test cricket.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Sidhu claimed that players like Shardul Thakur are good in ODIs, but Test cricket requires specialists. He also argued that India have been using Shardul more for his batting than for his bowling impact.
“Even if Shardul makes a fifty, at that No.8 position, bits-and-pieces cricketers do well in one-day cricket, but in Test cricket, you always need specialists. If you could bring Shardul the bowler at No.8, then I would agree this is the right selection. You do not bowl him enough and then in order to increase the batting you compromise with your bowling. Bits-and-pieces cricketers, I don’t think will ever win you games abroad,” said the former Indian opener.
The 33-year-old bowled just 16 overs during the first Test before being snubbed for the next two games. He took two wickets while giving away 80+ runs. With the bat, he contributed just five runs.
MAL
–
HKG
–
WI
–
AUS
–
RWA
–
ML
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
ROM
178/6
LUX
11/0
HUN
–
AUST
–
AUST
–
LUX
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
ALZ
21/3
JIHCC
163/4
RPH
–
MAR
–
JIHCC
–
ALZ
–
RPH
–
JIHCC
–
ALZ
–
RPH
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
BOT-W
16/3
MWW-W
–
EWW-W
–
LSN-W
13/2
RWA-W
–
SLO-W
–
CW-W
–
MZW-W
–
GUJCC
–
SUL
–
CHK
–
TCC
–
FRC
122/4
KLG
108/6
Fatemi Resources Cricket Club beat KL Gladiators by 14 runs
JBK
80/4
SWCL
106/5
Sky Warriors Cricket Club beat JB Kings by 26 runs
UTC
78/4
MXC
80/2
Maxx Cricket Club beat Utkal Cricket Club by 8 wickets
MKP
–
MBMS
5/1
FRC
–
MXC
–
JBK
–
MBMS
–
UTC
–
KLG
–
MKP
–
SWCL
–
UAE
121/3
NIG
–
KNY
–
NBA
–
KNY
–
NIG
–
UAE
–
UGA
–
VMK
–
MMS
–
MAK
154/9
BDS
155/4
Boost Defenders beat Mis Ainak Knights by 6 wickets
ASS
–
SGT
–
WIU19-W
–
USAU19-W
–
WIU19-W
–
USAU19-W
–
TBLZ-W
–
BRB-W
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
Match Cancelled
SUR-W
–
TBC
–
IAC
–
AAC
–
PNC
–
WIC
–
SAC
–
AAC
–
IAC
–
EDC
–
NZ
–
SA
–
IRE-W
–
ZIM-W
–
In the ongoing Test, however, Shardul collected 41 runs. He contributed in partnerships of 31 off 66 with Ravindra Jadeja and 48 off 101 with Washington Sundar.
Sidhu also observed that a player like Jadeja’s quality has struggled with the ball despite friendly conditions. He questioned the purpose of having a batting all-rounder at No.8.
“Even Jadeja could not pick wickets in the first two Tests with the rough. Batting, fielding, and as an all-rounder, par excellence. If seven can’t do it, eight also won’t. I have been repeating this point time and again. I feel this is again a compromise, and I feel it will not go in favour of India,” he asserted.
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India’s performance under head coach Gautam Gambhir in Test cricket hasn’t been impressive. India enjoyed success against Bangladesh at home, but suffered an embarrassing whitewash against New Zealand. The poor run continued in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, losing the series 1-3 in Australia. Currently, they are lagging 1-2 against England in the five-match Test series.
Since BGT 2024-25, India have been facing immense criticism for preferring a batting all-rounder over a specialist bowler at No.8. India played with three spin bowling all-rounders at home. And they are currently playing two spin all-rounders and a pace all-rounder in overseas Test. While it has helped India add depth in the batting line-up, the bowling attack has visibly suffered.
Shardul Thakur is known as a batting all-rounder. He was sent to bat at No.7 in the first innings despite Sundar, arguably a more reliable batter than the former, padding up. The right-hand batter, however, didn’t disappoint as he played a crucial 41-run knock off 88 balls with five fours. Now, all eyes will be on his bowling.
Reddy, on the other hand, had scored 45 runs across two tests and picked three wickets in 28 overs across two Tests. But his limited impact with the ball puts extra load on the frontline pacers. Notably, Reddy was India’s third leading run-getter in BGT 2024-25. But he bowled only 44 overs across 10 innings of five Tests and managed just five wickets, averaging 38. As a result, India’s specialist bowlers had to bowl more overs than usual in the scorching heat Down Under.
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