
'Captain Takes The Call': Shardul Thakur Reveals What Shubman Gill Told Him After 1st Test
Shardul Thakur bowled just five overs on Day 2 that saw England score 225/2 from 46 overs.
Shardul Thakur bowled 16 overs in the first Test – six in England's first innings and the remaining in second dig. He was benched for the next two games and after being recalled for the fourth Test, he bowled five overs on Day 2. In comparison, Jasprit Bumrah bowler 13 overs while Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj delivered 10 overs each.
Is the allrounder being underbowled? Has he had any conversations with captain Shubman Gill regarding his underutilisation as a bowler? Thakur does admit that not bowling regularly impacts the rhythm but adds that these calls are taken by the skipper.
'If you talk about the first match, he (Gill) said there wasn't much scope to bowl me. Usually the captain takes the calls (who bowls), player doesn't have much say (in it). As far as this match is concerned, the way the game progressed, there was a possibility for a couple overs but there's still time left in the game – three days. I will get more overs, hopefully," Thakur told reporters after the end of play on Day 2 of the 4th Test in Manchester.
'Rhythm is always difficult, when you don't know how much you will bowl or when you'll bowl. But I will try to use whatever experience I have and use that in my bowling. That's all I can do," he added.
After India battled the challenging batting conditions of the morning session to be bowled out for 358, they ended up conceding 225 runs in just 46 overs with England losing just two wickets.
Thakur said that the ball wasn't doing much compared to the first session when it was causing all sorts of trouble to the Indian batters.
'I think the (new ball) bowlers were trying to find some swing in the hope that, or probably I would say the way we saw there was some swing and seam in the morning, we hoped that it will do for us also but it didn't happen and probably that's what I would say [bowled on the pads)," Thakur said.
Thakur though added they could've been more patient.
'With the new ball we could have been better and after that, yes we were trying to hold it back like I said but runs kept flowing. It wasn't difficult for bowlers, I would say. We could have had much more patience in terms of bowling the channel, which we didn't," he said.
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First Published:
July 25, 2025, 10:13 IST
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