Latest news with #Shardul
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
R Ashwin analyses: You have taken Shardul Thakur in the team and didn't give him a ball in the first 40 overs…has a very decent match-up against Joe Root
In the first Test at Headingly in Leeds, Shardul Thakur was not given the ball until the 40th over, while other bowlers were having a tough time, apart from Jasprit Bumrah. By the time the all-rounder was brought in, there were set batters at the crease, and the ball also lost its shine and was not letting swing. 'You have taken Shardul Thakur in the team and didn't give him a ball in the first 40 overs. And Joe Root was batting. And Shardul has a very decent match-up against Joe Root. So, if Shardul Thakur's role is not less, then I genuinely rate Shardul as a cricketer,' Ashwin analyzed on his YouTube channel. Thakur does have the knack of picking wickets. 'He has caught Ben Duckett and Harry Brook. He can make things happen. But he has to use them at the right time. But if this is going to be the way he is going to be used, I don't think he is really making any sense. Because he has to be given the ball for him to make a difference. He didn't bowl that much in the first 40 overs,' Ashwin observed. 'He didn't bowl that much in the second innings either. Obviously, much more than the first innings. So, his role was very limited and I think it is very unfair to raise an argument on what he did,' Ashwin added. Ajinkya Rahane advised the Indian team management to use Shardul Thakur with the new ball because of his ability to swing the ball. In the first Test, though, Shardul did bowl quite a chunk of overs in both innings, he took the ball when it did lose its shine a bit. 'I feel an all-rounder's role is very important. Shardul Thakur has been an experienced player and has done well in Test cricket overseas. I want to see more overs from Shardul. If the Indian team can use Shardul Thakur in a better way, that will be great. Whatever I have seen with him, he can swing the ball both ways and is a wicket-taker. If Shardul can bowl the first change or even given the new ball he can swing it both ways,' Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘You took Shardul Thakur in the team and didn't give him ball for 40 overs': Ashwin points finger at Shubman Gill
It took 39 overs for Shubman Gill to throw the ball to Shardul Thakur in England's first innings at Headingley. He was taken off after three uneventful overs only to return to the attack 22 overs later from a different end. His second spell was slightly better as he conceded 15 runs compared to the 23 he had leaked in his first three overs but he never looked like taking a wicket. The manner in which Gill used Shardul did not indicate that India even believed he could take a wicket. 6 overs for 38 runs can not be and should not be the figures of your fourth seamer when the opposition has scored 465. Shardul Thakur celebrates taking the wicket of England's Ben Duckett(Action Images via Reuters) There was not much improvement even in the second innings. He got introduced into the attack a tad early - in the 19th over - but ended up bowling only 10 overs even as India struggled to make inroads on Day 5. Some may argue that he got a couple of overs only because he got those two lucky breaks in the second session. Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said the ideal time to introduce Shardul Thakur into the attack was when Joe Root was batting, as he has a decent match-up against the former England captain, having dismissed him twice in 2021. "You have taken Shardul Thakur in the team and didn't give him a ball in the first 40 overs. And Joe Root was batting. And Shardul has a very decent match-up against Joe Root. So, if Shardul Thakur's role is not less, then I genuinely rate Shardul as a cricketer," Ashwin said in his YouTube channel. Ashwin said Shardul needs to be better utilised in order for him to make an impact in the match. "He has caught Ben Duckett and Harry Brook. He can make things happen. But he has to use them at the right time. But if this is going to be the way he is going to be used, I don't think he is really making any sense. Because he has to be given the ball for him to make a difference. He didn't bowl that much in the first 40 overs." Ashwin said it is unfair to criticise Shardul because he didn't get enough opportunities at the right time during the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which India lost by five wickets despite putting in a good batting performance in both innings. "He didn't bowl that much in the second innings either. Obviously, much more than the first innings. So, his role was very limited and I think it is very unfair to raise an argument on what he did," Ashwin added. If India decide to go in with a proper bowler, then Shardul's place in the side seems shaky. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is the frontrunner to replace him in India's XI. Another factor that could dictate India's playing XI in the second Test in Birmingham is Jasprit Bumrah's presence. After bowling 44 overs in the first Test, it is unlikely that Bumrah would play in Birmingham. "The Indian team will go for the second Test. Obviously, Bumrah can play or not play. But the Indian team will think that Bumrah's life is at stake in this test match. He won't play two Test matches. This is our best chance. Batting was going on. Bumrah bowled well. He was available. If we could have taken the lead 1-0 here, how? In the next test match, it will affect you," Ashwin said.
NDTV
9 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
India Star Forgets Item At Hotel Ahead Of Departure To Birmingham, Labelled Next Rohit Sharma
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy left an item at the team's hotel in Leeds, ahead of the departure for the second Test, starting July 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India trail 0-1 in the five-match series as England won the series opener at Headingley by five wickets earlier this week. However, Reddy did not feature in the match as the team management opted to go with veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur instead. With less than a week remaining for the start of the 2nd Test, the Indian team departed for Birmingham earlier this week. However, before the team's departure, an interesting incident took place as Reddy forgot an item at the team hotel and was spotted leaving the bus to collect it. He returned to the bus after a while and was also spotted having a chat with the security head of the Indian team. Reddy's forgetfulness reminded a fan of Rohit Sharma, who also has an habit of forgetting things at team hotels. Nitish Kumar Reddy forgets things like Rohit does in the hotel room — Shikha (@Shikha_003) June 27, 2025 India head coach Gautam Gambhir defended captain Shubman Gill 's decision to under bowl Shardul, who could be dropped for the second game in Birmingham. In his first Test since December 2023, Shardul was under-utilised in the pace department and was rather underwhelming with the bat, totalling five off 20 balls across two innings. Questions were raised about his presence in the playing eleven ahead of a specialist bowler when he rolled his arm over for six overs in the first innings before bowling 10 in the second. Like he often does, Shardul did pick a couple of wickets out of nowhere to raise hopes of an Indian comeback on day five but the bite in his bowling was missing. He alongside the likes of Prasidh Krishna offered too many loose balls, lacking consistency to test the opposition batters. With India losing the game having controlled for a major part of five days, there is no need to ring the alarm bells but a few changes are certain in the playing eleven for the Edgbaston Test.. Experts cried out for Kuldeep Yadav 's inclusion in the series opener and now he is most likely to replace Shardul with the surface expected to aid the spinners in Birmingham.. "Kuldeep needs to be there. There is no point playing with four pacers. Either of Shardul or Prasidh can make way for him," former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar told PTI.
India.com
21 hours ago
- Sport
- India.com
IND vs ENG: Veteran cricketer gives BIG advice to Shubman Gill ahead of 2nd Test, says...
Team India Test captain Shubman Gill. (PIC - X) New Delhi: Team India is under fire after the 5-wicket defeat in the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. Coach Gautam Gambhir's planning and Shubman Gill's captaincy are being criticised. It is being said about Gill that he did not use some bowlers properly on the last day of the match. If he had done so, the result of the match could have been different. England's team achieved the target of 371 runs on the fifth day at the loss of 5 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Shardul Thakur was failing in the 1st Test Indian star batter Ajinkya Rahane has asked captain Shubman Gill to give more bowling opportunities to all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Shardul's performance has been very poor during the match. He could score only 5 runs in both the innings combined. Apart from this, he got a chance to bowl in a total of 16 overs and he could take only two wickets. On his YouTube channel, Rahane explained in detail about Shardul's role. Ajinkya Rahane's advice to Shubman Gill 'I think the role of an all-rounder is very important. Shardul Thakur has been an experienced player and has done well in Test cricket abroad. I want to see more overs from Shardul. If the Indian team can use Shardul Thakur in a better way, it will be really great. What I have seen with him, he can swing the ball both ways and he is a wicket-taking bowler. If Shardul can bowl as the first change or even given the new ball, he can swing it both ways.' Former captain Ajinkya Rahane had a special plan Rahane suggested a change in bowling strategy to make Shardul more effective on the field. He said, 'The Dukes ball usually starts changing after 10 or 12 overs. If Shardul can start bowling with Bumrah and Siraj can come as a change, it would be great. I would like to see Shardul bowling more overs. Give him that freedom, he will get you more wickets.' Ajinkya Rahane praised Jasprit Bumrah Rahane, who won the Test series in Australia under his captaincy, said, 'Bumrah's five-wicket haul in the first innings was amazing. Apart from his five wickets, what I liked about Bumrah was his intent. The way he was running in his run-up. His intensity during his bowling was amazing. The line and length he bowled. He was aggressive throughout in his bowling approach. I would like to see support from the other end. Bumrah is obviously bowling at his aggressive length but if he can get support from Siraj and Prasidh, it will be great for him. You don't want Bumrah to come under pressure and start bowling too many overs and put pressure on the team.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
India vs England: 'My first aim is ... ' - Shubman Gill's turn to make some bold calls
Before India went into the first Test against England at Headingley, said, 'I see myself as a batter first. My first aim is to become the highest run-scorer of the series.' Very clear in his thought process, Gill walked the talk. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He became the fifth Indian to score a century on India captaincy debut. With runs on the board, one felt the young man's initiation into leading the troops would be a smooth one. But over the course of the next four days, things didn't exactly pan out the way it should have and India are now 0-1 down in the series. While the burden of captaincy didn't affect Shubman the batter, it's clear that in the field, his leadership skills are still a work in progress. It's still early days but there's no doubt leadership in England is going to be a steep learning curve for the 25-year old, who is the fifth youngest India cricketer to become Test captain. It's not easy when the opposition batting lineup is as strong as England's and the pitches are not exactly bowler friendly. If this was a subcontinental dust bowl, Gill might have found things a little easier, but the first Test in Leeds suggested this tour is going to be a baptism by fire for him. 'These are tough places to lead and it is like pushing someone into the deep sea. He batted phenomenally well in the first innings and will learn on the job as he goes on, coach said. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! While the coach has every reason to throw his weight behind Gill, there were a few raised eyebrows with the way he used allrounder Shardul Thakur. In the first innings, when England batted for 101 overs, Shardul, playing as a bowling allrounder, was given only six overs, that too after coming in pretty late. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It left an impression that Shubman lacks confidence in Shardul, not necessarily a positive sign. Why Team India will practice behind closed doors in Birmingham, details of bonding session and more Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on his Youtube channel, said that to get the best of out of Shardul, it was important that he came in to bowl within the first 40 overs. 'Shardul is a good cricketer and he has a decent match-up with Joe Root. When you're playing in England, the ball sometimes stops doing anything after the first 40 overs. If Shardul is playing, he should be bowling more during that phase,' Ashwin said. Gill's body language in the field had an air of assurance about it. He didn't look too overawed by the situation, which showed that his leadership stint with Gujarat Titans in the IPL had helped. He doesn't exactly have the inyour-face aggression of a Virat Kohli, nor does his face betray emotions, as it used to be the case with Rohit Sharma. In many ways, Gill is his own man, and even when things were getting tight on Day 5, he didn't lose his smile and didn't allow the shoulders to droop. But there could be a little bit of criticism about his field placements on the fifth morning, when India needed to be aggressive to take wickets. The staggered slip cordon very early on was a clear indication that he was going on the defensive, which probably gave a little bit of mental edge to the England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. 'Country over my child': KL Rahul's first words before England Tests There were a few edges off Duckett's bat that went in the gaps behind the wicket, something that could have been avoided. In the latter half of the first innings too, when Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse were making merry, Gill delayed the re-introduction of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, which cost India about 50 runs. That stretch of play showed a little bit of immaturity in Gill's captaincy, but then it can't be forgotten that the skipper can't run Bumrah to the ground. It is not easy for a captain when the bowling isn't exactly firing and there is a fitness issue with the only X-factor bowler in the XI. In a situation like this, Gill the captain has to take some bold decisions going forward, which might start with the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Tiger Pataudi, way back in 1967 in England, decided to play four spinners in the playing XI — a decision that subsequently made India a very difficult team to beat at home. In 2018, it was Virat Kohli's turn to play with four pacers, another call that helped the team rule red-ball cricket for a brief phase. In a crunch situation, such radical calls become a necessity and it's to be seen if captain Gill is bold enough to cut down on the batting line-up and go with five genuine bowlers in the second Test starting on July 2. It can lead to either bouquets or brickbats, but then that's part and parcel of the most coveted job in Indian sport.
