Fast-bowling All-rounder Shardul Thakur admitted that being sparingly used as a bowler in the ongoing fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy affects his rhythm but conceded that how much he bowls — and when — is a call only captain Shubman Gill can make.
Thakur, who returned to the side for the Old Trafford Test scored a crucial 41 runs in India’s first innings. However, he bowled only five of the 46 overs on Day 2. England ended the day at 225/2, trailing India by 133 runs. In the five overs he bowled, Thakur gave away 35 runs at 7 an over.
When asked about his limited contribution with the ball after the end of the day’s play, Thakur said the decision rests with captain Gill. “Giving bowling is the captain’s call. Not in my hands. The captain decides when to give them,” Thakur said.
The Mumbai all-rounder insisted he could have bowled two more overs on Thursday. “But that is the captain’s call. It is difficult to find rhythm but I try and use my experience,” Thakur added.
Thakur said that England scored ‘a lot of runs in the first 10-12 overs’ and ‘after that, we were trying to pull it back’. “And, you know, runs kept flowing. We know a lot of times when the sun is out here, the runs are being scored at a good rate. And when the conditions are overcast, the ball does a lot. And then it just becomes difficult to score,” he said.
The decision to give him only five overs baffled former India offie R Ashwin. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said India could have included left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing 11 if Thakur was going to be used in a limited role.
Ashwin said: “If you are only planning to give Shardul Thakur this many overs, and expect 20-30 runs from him. I love Shardul Thakur, I like him a lot, but if this is the usage point, why can’t you consider Kuldeep Yadav? It is just blowing my head away. I know it seems against the grain because it is three spinners, but it is not that way, Jadeja is a specialist batter for you now. Washington Sundar is also batting well. When your bowlers can bat so well, why are you not bringing an attacking bowler? Today, Jassi was bowling, and after that, it looked like India had no other options to take a wicket.”
