Team India suffered a humiliating defeat in the first Test played between India and England at Headingley. India lost the match by 5 wickets. Poor bowling and fielding were attributed to the defeat. But the head coach of the team, Gautam Gambhir, defended the bowlers and stated that, other than Bumrah and Siraj, no one has a lot of experience. All will improve with time.
Gambhir also supported Shardul Thakur here because Shardul was not asked to bowl much in the match. Shardul, who played his first Test since December 2023, was utilized poorly in fast bowling, and Shardul disappointed the team with his batting as well. He compiled a total of five runs off 20 balls in two innings. Shardul was bowled just six overs in the match’s first innings and 10 overs in the second innings. Under such a scenario, there are questions raised over preferring him to a specialist bowler. Despite Shardul having given hopes of Indian victory by picking up two wickets on two successive occasions on the fifth day of the match, his bowling was not sharp and lacked edge. He and Prasidh Krishna bowled a lot of poor balls, which did not exert pressure on the England batsmen.
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Bring Kuldeep: Vengsarkar
Meanwhile, former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar told PTI, “Kuldeep should be in the team. There is no point in playing with four fast bowlers. Either Shardul or Prasidh can make room for him.” In England, teams have often played with four fast bowlers, but given the current weather, both Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja can make it to the playing XI. Questions are also being raised on Jadeja’s bowling as he could not make much impact on the fifth day pitch that was helpful for spinners. Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar told ‘Jiostar’, “Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I am sad to say this, but Shardul Thakur has to go out.”
He said, “This is a change that India will have to make. As far as Nitish Kumar Reddy is concerned, I supported him for the first Test on the basis that he performed brilliantly in Australia.” Manjrekar said, “But he does not provide enough options. He will not be able to fully live up to the role of the fourth fast bowler in the team, so the Indian team management will have to take a tough decision. For this I will keep one fast bowler less and include Kuldeep in the playing 11. He has to play.”
Shardul’s Less Appearance
After chasing England’s record target of 371 runs at Headingley, Gambhir was asked about the lesser use of Shardul, and he supported the captain (Shubman Gill) in this matter. He said, “The captain sometimes acts according to his conscience, and Jadeja gave us control (reduced the run rate) in the first innings. With this, we could bowl with our three fast bowlers at the other end.
He said, “We know what Shardul’s skills are and that is why he is playing for India. He is the fourth fast bowler, it does not mean that he should be given a chance to bowl before the spinner. A captain takes decisions according to his thinking and this decision is largely based on the condition of the pitch.
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