logo
Ignored India Star Ends Big Selection Debate For 1st Test Against England: "Go With..."

Ignored India Star Ends Big Selection Debate For 1st Test Against England: "Go With..."

NDTV19-06-2025
Veteran pacer Umesh Yadav has batted for the selection of all-rounder Shardul Thakur in Team India's playing for the 1st Test against England, starting Friday in Leeds. The Shubman Gill -led side have a choice to make between Shardul and Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fourth-choice pacer in Headingley. Shardul impressed during Team India's intra-squad practice match last week as he scored an unbeaten 122 and was also amongst the wickets. During a recent interaction, Umesh stressed on the fact that Shardul's previous experience of playing in England could come in handy for the visitors.
"If you go with an extra fast bowler, I would go with Shradul Thakur. He has played in England before. Can bowl 10-12 overs in a day, and he can bat as well. So, he is experienced," Umesh told Sports Today.
Umesh also weighed in on India's bowling line-up, suggesting that there is plenty of experience when it comes to pace bowling options.
"There is firepower, for sure. You have Bumrah, Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna and there are other guys as well. You have also selected Shardul Thakur, who can swing the ball and also bats deep. There is Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep as well. Bumrah and Siraj have played a lot of cricket but they would be needing some support from one of the new bowlers. When they need rest, the third pacer is going to be key. If the third bowler can support them well, it would be good for the Indian team," he added.
Umesh, who is currently on the road to recovery from a leg muscle injury, said that he is eyeing a comeback after proving his worth in domestic cricket.
"Efforts to make a comeback are complete. I cannot select myself. I will have to play some matches, get fit. To come back, I will have to play competitive cricket. My effort is to get fit and come back in the team," he said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Is captain Shubman Gill to blame for India's bowling flop show? Experts divided
Is captain Shubman Gill to blame for India's bowling flop show? Experts divided

India Today

time6 minutes ago

  • India Today

Is captain Shubman Gill to blame for India's bowling flop show? Experts divided

It was a tough test for young captain Shubman Gill and his bowling group as England dominated proceedings with real authority on Day 3 of the fourth Test in Manchester. While India went down 2-1 before the fourth Test, they had been in the contest in every session of the first three matches. However, at Old Trafford, they were comfortably outplayed on Days 2 and 3, with England sending the Indian bowling unit on a leather exclusion of Kuldeep Yadav, a genuine wicket-taking option, drew criticism at the start of the Test, especially as injuries to the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep led fans and pundits to wonder if India would finally hand their left-arm wrist-spinner a go in the series. However, India opted for the safer route by retaining batting depth and handing a debut to medium-pacer Anshul Kamboj, who replaced Akash Deep. | ENG vs IND, 4th Test Day 3 Updates |India felt the absence of a strike bowler when their attack was taken apart by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley on Day 2. After being bowled out for 357—failing to convert starts into big knocks—the lack of firepower in the bowling line-up was exposed when the conditions began to favour the batters on Thursday and Friday. Jasprit Bumrah looked lacklustre for the first time in the series, and Mohammed Siraj appeared fatigued, playing his fourth consecutive Test. Debutant Anshul, bowling military medium, struggled to trouble the England batters consistently, although he did claim the key wicket of Ben Duckett late on Day raced to 225 for 2 at stumps on Thursday, scoring at over five runs per over. The dominant batting show continued on Friday morning as Joe Root and Ollie Pope made the most of a bright morning and a flat pitch. Bumrah and Siraj opened the day with hostile spells, bowling tight lines—unlike Thursday afternoon, where they had squandered the new Root and Pope weathered the storm and kept the scoreboard ticking by attacking Anshul and Ravindra Jadeja. Captain Gill showed little faith in Shardul Thakur despite having picked him as a bowling was even more baffling was India's reluctance to use Washington Sundar, who had taken a four-wicket haul in the second innings of the previous Test at Lord's. Sundar was not brought into the attack until the 69th over of England's made an immediate impact, breaking a 144-run stand for the third wicket by removing a well-set Ollie Pope. He then claimed the big wicket of Harry Brook, having the World No. 1 batter ability to strike twice in quick succession, along with the drift he was getting on Day 3, raised further questions about why captain Gill did not trust his Gujarat Titans teammate earlier.#Sundar's got the golden touch today!Two quick wickets and #HarryBrook is walking back.#ENGvIND 4th TEST, DAY 3 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 25, 2025RED FLAG IN GILL'S CAPTAINCYFormer India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said Gill's hesitation to use his spinners was a red flag, though he stressed the entire blame shouldn't fall solely on the captain. He also criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir for not being hands-on enough when the team was under pressure."Somewhere down the line, Shubman Gill feels that his spinner can't get him a wicket. Washington—maybe he doesn't rate him that much. But that is a major red flag for me," Manjrekar told JioStar during the lunch break on Day 3."You have got to be patient with Shubman Gill. I am already an admirer of him. He's been thrown into the deep end. I really think Bumrah should've taken the reins whenever he was has been thrown to the wolves on an away tour, against a formidable opposition, and he's held his own so far."This is where Gautam Gambhir, the senior coach, has to come into the picture. It's almost like you need an U19 coach who gets more involved in on-field tactics. Gambhir has got to remind himself that Gill is still in a nascent stage as captain. He is not someone who has led India in 25–30 Tests. He's got to step in. I can understand Brendon McCullum not interfering with Ben Stokes around—but Gambhir must.""I don't see any plausible reason for not using Sundar for 68 overs. I see this as a major red flag in Shubman Gill's trait as captain."TRUST YOUR SPINNERS MOREFormer India head coach Ravi Shastri also urged Gill to trust his second spinner more."I said on my first commentary stint that Gill has to trust his spinners more. Washington gave him four wickets in the last game. He opened things up for India in the last Test at Lord's."He's confident, so give him a go. Spinners like longer spells. On a day like this, you'd expect your spinner to accept responsibility, feel accountable and go out there and do a job."advertisementBROAD DEFENDS GILLHowever, former England pacer Stuart Broad defended Shubman Gill, saying it's not easy for a young captain to contain a rampaging England side on a high-scoring ground like Manchester. Broad cited Pat Cummins in the 2023 Ashes Test at Old Trafford, where the senior Aussie captain appeared clueless when England piled on 589 at over five runs per over."One thing I would say to back Shubman Gill: I watched Pat Cummins here against England in 2023—a very successful Australian captain—have every fielder on the boundary, and he was just chasing leather all day. Didn't know what to bowl, didn't know where to go."This England team, this England batting unit, can make it very, very difficult for captains to find ways of being creative. Because they're so aggressive with what they're doing, the bowlers are missing both sides of the wicket."You can't control anything—particularly the lines the Indian bowlers have gone with, not just last night, but a bit today as well."- EndsTune InMust Watch

India vs England 4th Test: After Dravid, Kallis, Joe Root goes past Ricky Ponting for most Test runs
India vs England 4th Test: After Dravid, Kallis, Joe Root goes past Ricky Ponting for most Test runs

Time of India

time18 minutes ago

  • Time of India

India vs England 4th Test: After Dravid, Kallis, Joe Root goes past Ricky Ponting for most Test runs

Joe Root of England celebrates reaching his century during Day Three of the 4th Test Match vs India at Old Trafford (Photo by) Joe Root extended his dominance over India with yet another masterclass, notching up his 12th Test century against them in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. The hundred, studded with 12 fours and no sixes, reaffirmed his status as India's ultimate nemesis in the longest format. While he reached his century in style, 20 runs later, he jumped to second in the list of players with most runs in the longest format. In a landmark innings, England's Root now holds second spot in the elite list, and only has the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in front of him. The Indian legend, in 329 innings over 200 managed an inimitable 15921 runs. But for Root, the climb continued as he leapfrogged Ricky Ponting, who earlier had 2nd spot with 13378. Root, in the 3rd Day of the 4th Test, has now gone past the Australian legend and former skipper. Additionally, Root was congratulated by Ricky Ponting on comms, saying ,"With the way he's been playing for the last five years, there's no reason he shouldn't break Sachin Tendulkar's record." With this ton, Root surpassed Australia's Steve Smith, who previously held the record against India with 11 tons in Tests. This was also Root's ninth century against India in home conditions, which is the most by any batter against a single opponent on home soil. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Are Watching Tariffs - Few Are Watching What Nvidia Just Launched Seeking Alpha Read More Undo He broke Australia legend Don Bradman's long-standing record of eight tons at home against England. The 33-year-old continued rewriting the record books throughout his innings. He equalled the record for most Test hundreds in home conditions (23), joining Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Mahela Jayawardene. Earlier in the match, Root also overtook Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Jacques Kallis (13,289) to move into third place on the all-time Test run-scoring chart. With this knock, he now trails only Sachin Tendulkar. Root also became the first batter to complete 1000 Test runs at Old Trafford and just the third Englishman after Alastair Cook and Graham Gooch to achieve 1000-plus runs at two venues, having already amassed over 2000 runs at Lord's. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, speaking on Sky Sports Cricket before play, praised Root's evolution. 'How he's transformed from someone that couldn't go on past fifty to hundreds — now it seems like every time he gets to fifty, you just mark him down for a hundred,' Ponting said. Shardul Thakur opens up on being under bowled, gives inside details on Rishabh Pant Adding another layer to his glittering resume, Root also moved into second place for most fifty-plus scores in Test cricket, going past Ponting and Kallis. On a flat Day 3 pitch, Root's fluency made life miserable for India's bowlers, who struggled to dislodge England's most reliable Test batter of the era. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!

Anahat signs off with bronze medal at World Squash Junior Championships
Anahat signs off with bronze medal at World Squash Junior Championships

News18

time27 minutes ago

  • News18

Anahat signs off with bronze medal at World Squash Junior Championships

Cairo, Jul 25 (PTI) Teen squash sensation Anahat Singh signed off with a bronze medal the World Squash Junior Championships after going down to Egypt's Nadien ElHammamy in the women single's semifinals here Friday. The second-seeded Indian fought hard but eventually lost 6-11, 12-14, 10-12 to the Egyptian, who had strong support from the home crowd. Anahat led in both the second and third games but couldn't build on the advantage. With her semifinal finish, the 17-year-old became the first Indian girl to reach the last-four stage of the tournament since Dipika Pallikal in 2010. Had she won, Anahat would have become only the second Indian to reach the final in the women's individual category after Joshna Chinappa's historic run in 2005. PTI APA AT AT Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store