indian cricket team

‘Could’ve Bowled Two More….’ – Shardul Thakur Hints At Short Spells As Reason For Struggling Rhythm

Chandra Moulee Das

Last updated: July 25, 2025

3 min read

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur had a disappointing show with the ball in the ongoing ENG vs IND 4th Test at Manchester, struggling to find his length and rhythm. The 33-year-old bowled an expensive spell going at an economy of 7.0, conceding 35 runs in his five overs and failed to find any wickets as England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley made merry.

However, Thakur revealed that the reason behind his inconsistent bowling was not getting enough overs at a stretch even though he felt he could bowl more and implied that such calls lie with skipper Shubman Gill.

Echoing on the same lines, Thakur said while speaking to the media after end of Day 2’s play, “Giving bowling is captain’s call. Not in my hands. Captain decides when to give. I could have bowled two overs more today but that is captain’s call. Difficult to find rhythm but I try and use my experience.”

Notably, Shardul was expensive too in his previous outing two tests ago in the series opener at Leeds. He went at economies of over 6.0 and 5.0 in the two innings but in his defence, skipper Shubman Gill’s use of the pacer also came under criticism.

Shardul was subsequently dropped after the Leeds game till he made a return in Manchester after Nitish Kumar Reddy got ruled out of the series due to a knee injury.

ALSO READ:

England in driver’s seat despite India’s strong batting show in Manchester Test

Speaking about the ENG vs IND 4th Test so far, India batted first and posted 358. While there were no particular individual brilliance or a century, it was more of a combined effort with almost everyone in the batting lineup stepping up. There were three fifties from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58), Sai Sudharsan (61) and Rishabh Pant (54), while two scored in the 40s – KL Rahul (46) and Shardul Thakur (41).

In response, England came out blazing with their Bazball and openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckket registered a fiery 166-run opening stand. While Crawley missed out on a ton, departing on 84 Duckett is still unbeaten and batting in his 90s. At Stumps on Day 2, England has racked up 225 for 2 in just 46 overs, reducing the deficit to 133 runs with Duckett and Ollie Pope set to resume batting on Day 3.

For India, they have the series on the line as they currently trail 1-2 and will need to eke out a win or salvage a draw at Manchester to avoid a series loss.

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.