Shardul Thakur says getting limited overs affecting ‘rhythm', concedes how much he bowls is captain Shubman Gill's call
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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
a minute ago
- Hans India
Shubman Gill answered all challenges and questions perfectly with his bat, says Parthiv Patel
New Delhi: Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel believes Test skipper Shubman Gill answered all challenges and questions through his prolific run-scoring spree during the recently drawn Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England. Gill's first assignment as India's Test captain ended in the visitors' forcing the scoreline to be at 2-2 in the five-match series in England. He was also the leading run scorer in the series, finishing with a whopping 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including hitting four centuries and was adjudged as India's Player of the Series. 'Four centuries, an average of 75.40, and more than 750 runs — all scored across different conditions. Earlier, when he walked out to bat, there were questions: Will he be able to perform in the SENA countries? Can he deliver consistently? But look at the answers he's given. 147 runs in the first innings at Headingley.' 'In the second innings, people said he threw his wicket away after that big score. Then came 269 runs in the first innings at Edgbaston. Again, the talk was that it might prove to be less, but he followed it up with 161 in the second innings.' 'In the third Test, he got out early in both innings, and questions about his form began again, even though he had already scored 430 runs in the previous match. And then came that hundred in Manchester, in a match India needed to draw. Whenever there's been a challenge, whenever questions have been asked, Gill has answered them perfectly with his bat,' said Patel on JioHotstar. He also went on to talk about the importance of the often-underappreciated value of Ravindra Jadeja brings to the table with his batting skills. Jadeja made 516 runs for India, including hitting five half-centuries and a gritty unbeaten century that helped India draw the fourth Test at Manchester. 'The value of the 516 runs scored by Jadeja increases significantly because, in the first Test match, India suffered two batting collapses. That's when the contribution of batters at number six and seven becomes crucial — and Ravindra Jadeja's name naturally comes up, as he occupies that position.' 'After that, there wasn't a single batting collapse in the rest of the series. The way he batted and the consistency he showed were extremely important for India. What applies to KL Rahul in this regard also applies to Ravindra Jadeja it's vital for a senior player to stand up in such moments, and Jadeja has done exactly that in this series,' concluded Patel.
New Indian Express
36 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
The McGrath Ashes prediction is here: It'll be 5-0 win for Australia
LONDON: The Ashes is still over three months away but pace legend Glenn McGrath is out with his much-awaited prediction for the upcoming edition -- a 5-0 sweep for Australia. The feisty showdown is slated to begin in Perth on November 21 and McGrath believes England will find it "pretty tough" to battle past the likes of Pat Cummins and a rather poor past record. McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. "It's very rare for me to make a prediction, isn't it? And I can't make a different one - 5-0," McGrath declared on 'BBC Radio'. "I'm very confident with our team. When you've got Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon firing in their home conditions, it's going to be pretty tough. "Plus, that track record England have had, it'd be interesting to see if they can win a Test," he added. England, who are set to travel Down Under for the five-match series later this year, haven't won the Ashes since 2015. Additionally, they have lost either 0-5 or 0-4 in all but one series in Australia since 2002-03. Their last Test win came in 2010-11 when they claimed a 3-1 series triumph. Australia won 4-0 when England last toured the country in 2021-22 and Pat Cummins' side have only lost two of their past 15 Tests at home, winning 11 and drawing two.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Michael Vaughan explains why Ollie Pope is a brilliant vice-captain but not a captain, says he can't have him walk in as skipper in Ashes if Ben Stokes can't play
Former England player Michael Vaughan said that while Ollie Pope was a good vice-captain, he was not cut out to be the England captain. Vaughan pointed out that Pope was not a natural leader which made it difficult for him to have that influence on that team in the 5th Test vs India. With the Ashes coming up in 3 months, Vaughan said that he feels that Harry Brook can take up the captain's mantle if regular skipper Ben Stokes couldn't play. 'We don't laud how good some vice-captains are. (Marcus) Trescothick was the best vice captain. I think Ollie Pope is a brilliant vice-captain. But he's not a captain. And by giving him the captaincy, I can see it a mile off. He's not a natural leader out in the middle. I saw that last year against Sri Lanka. I have seen it again this week. Say you get to Perth and Ben Stokes, the shoulder or you know, his body's in bits. Anything could happen with Ben. Fingers crossed he's fine but just say you go to Perth and Ben can't play. I can't have Ollie Pope walk in as skipper. But I can have Harry Brook because I see a natural leader,' Vaughan said in the Stick To Cricket podcast. 'He's a brilliant vice captain… but he's not a captain' ‼️ Do you agree with Michael Vaughan on Ollie Pope? — Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) August 8, 2025 Pope was named captain in the 5th and final Test match of the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after Stokes had to pull out due to injury. This led to India giving a terrific fightback in the 4th innings, clinching the match by 6 runs and drawing the series 2-2. 'We took as long as we could to make the decision,' Stokes had said. 'I came down [to the Oval] this morning to give myself every chance just to play as a batter – bowling was ruled out as soon as we got the scan results. It's one of those where weighing up the risk and reward, the risk was way too high. Hearing where it could head to, it wasn't something that was worth taking a risk on. I wouldn't expect to put any of my players at risk of an injury like this. So I'll start rehabbing now and focus on what we've got coming up in the winter. Once this series was done I was feet up anyway, so it doesn't make too much difference,' Stokes had said ahead of the match at the Oval.
