The Indian management will have a selection headache over which seam-bowling all-rounder to go with during the first of the five-match Test series against England, starting from June 20 at Leeds.
India has Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the ranks and former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that the former has an edge. Bhajji opined that India should ideally go with someone who can mostly shoulder bowling responsibilities along with his batting and since Nitish didn’t bowl much in the IPL 2025, the selectors should opt for Shardul in the opening Test.
Shardul bowled 34 overs in IPL, taking 13 wickets while Nitish bowled just five overs and returned with two scalps.
Echoing on the same lines, Harbhajan Singh said to PTI, “That’s where Shardul will have an edge on Nitish Reddy in my view. Nitish is a proper batsman who can definitely bowl. But we have not seen him bowling in the IPL much. Gautam (Gambhir) is there. He is a very capable coach. And I am sure he will take the right decision.”
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Shardul Thakur has made a reputation for taking wickets against the tide and is rated highly as a bowler with a golden arm. Furthermore, Shardul also has experience of English conditions and has contributed with bat and ball in the four Tests he previously played, including the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is yet to play his first Test in the UK will face a challenging task. Given that he bowls in the 120-125 km range, his primary role will be to contain and then see if he can exploit the conditions.
To boost Shardul’s cause, he has looked in fine form during the recent warm-up fixture between India and India A where he smashed an unbeaten century (122 off 68 balls) and also picked up four wickets with the ball.
The 33-year-old also had a stellar Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season where he finished as the second-highest run-scorer for Mumbai (505 runs) and took 35 wickets in nine matches, which saw his return to the Test fray having last played in 2023. It remains to be seen whether he gets a go in the playing XI for the Headingley Test or not.
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