Latest news with #ShardulThakur
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Our tail doesn't bat and our top order doesn't bowl. They should bowl a little at least': Aakash Chopra
In the first Test between India and England at Headingly in Leeds, although the Indian top order managed to score tons and put a platform, the lower-order batters were completely blown away after that by the England bowlers with India ending up on sub-par totals on both occasions which enabled England to chase massive 371 runs in the final innings. 'Our tail doesn't bat and our top order doesn't bowl. They should bowl a little at least. I am not saying that you need to give 15-odd overs, that you should have a player like Jacques Kallis, or like they (South Africa) are playing Wiaan Mulder at No. 3, or Aiden Markram is bowling a lot,' Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. In the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final, Mulder, despite not being a top-order batter, has been promoted up the order for South Africa. 'It will work out even if that's not the case. That's not something you need to focus on. However, you need a little bit of bowling at least because you get some balance, options, and choices with that. However, that doesn't happen because our batters don't bowl,' Chopra observed. Although India does have Shardul Thakur on their side for the first game, who could not make an impact with both bat and ball but he has shown in the past that he can score runs and pick wickets. 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.
Indian Express
8 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
9 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.
India Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- India Today
An anti-ageing cream called cricket
The year is 1997. A child is protesting to not wear his maroon sweater, as mandated by his DAV school. It's the end of March, the sun is out, winter has largely receded, but mornings in North India still have a nip. After the unsuccessful agitation, the sweater-clad child walks to the bus stop. He has been following a Test match happening in a different time zone, which ended post his bedtime. There is no mobile internet to check the result, so his eyes are searching for a newspaper at the bus is one. Kept, folded, on a wooden bench, whose owner has excused himself to smoke a beedi. The child skips past all the politics and local crime news, and lands on the second last page - the sports page. He freezes, as he reads the headline "India 81 all out". This is the famous test at Bridgetown, Barbados, where India failed to chase 120. The kid is numb, as he drags his soul-less body onto the bus.I have been watching cricket for 30 years now. As we age, our emotional investment in this game depreciates. Our heroes age, fade away, some get a farewell match, some don't, newer players come. There are some matches you just check the highlights of. Amazed at yourself by the disinterest, you think this is it. You have moved But then, on a random weekday, fifth day of a Test match, two wickets down, 100 odd runs to get, a Shardul Thakur sends Harry Brook back to the pavilion, with a delivery straying down the leg side. Two wickets in two deliveries. You scream "OUT" like that child way back in 1996, who screamed when Venkatesh Prasad uprooted Aamir Sohail's stump. Cricket keeps us young. It is the best anti-aging heartbreaks are core memories. They stay longer than the wins - a product of Darwinian evolution. We are coded to retain the bad outcomes, the threats, so as to learn and survive longer. We cope differently.I remember those Sharjah debacles against Pakistan on Jummah days. I would walk back home (we didn't have cable TV) broken-hearted. And I would look at people on the street, the paani puri wala, the one girl gleefully having the thrilling paani-puri, an uncle negotiating the best rate of potatoes and the numerous other people calmly going about their business. I would wonder if their lives are better off not following cricket, not having to witness Aquib Javed running through the Indian tail. Why am I ruining my entire day for a non-material loss? The players, the board of cricket, the sponsors don't even care about my existence. Why should I be so emotionally invested? Why should I be sad over something that has zero bearing on my goals and ambitions in life? And then, a few days later. Sachin would hit a six over the head of Michael Kasprowicz, and we were all back with our cheerleader pom an incredible time warp, and we are all willingly part of it. An emotional roller-coaster we have been riding for decades. Each time we think we are too old for this ride, and we want to get down, it pulls us back in, with miracles like two centuries in the same Test match by Rishabh Pant. And then, on the very next day, presents a fresh heartbreak. India fails to defend 371. Only the second time ever. Each loss plumbs new depths, and each win sets new records.I was in Goa this time on the fifth day, when Stokes and Root were batting with some 50 odd runs to get. I was out for dinner in the immaculate Tanjore tiffin room, polishing off some brown rice with a divine Puli my phone conked off. Panic. I had to rush home. After some anxious moments with the valet, taking his own sweet time, I reached my place, plugged my phone in, waited patiently for it to boot-up, then typed in "Eng vs Ind" on the Google bar, waiting for the score to refresh, hoping to see an increment in the wickets' the buffering circle rotated, it reminded me of that newspaper at the bus stop, 28 years ago. Same child-like anxiety. Same result. Maybe the same intensity of heartbreak. Sigh. Soon, another victory, another moment of magic, will pull us back onto this perennial roller-coaster. Till then, have faith in this anti-ageing cream called cricket.(Abhishek Asthana is the founder of a creative agency – GingerMonkey. He tweets as @GabbbarSingh)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
India.com
2 days ago
- Sport
- India.com
Not Mohammed Siraj, Ajinkya Rahane wants THIS ex-CSK star to open bowling with Jasprit Bumrah in Tests vs England
Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. New Delhi: India started their five-match Test series against England on a bad note after they fell to a five-wicket defeat in the first match at Leeds. Another main issue with the defeat was that there was no backing of Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling line. On the one hand, there is Bumrah, whose performance was above par. But on the other hand, the rest of the pace attack had trouble to perform, either they conceded too many runs or could not make breakthroughs. Mohammed Siraj shared the new ball with Bumrah in the Test but former vice-captain and an experience Test player Ajinkya Rahane has now made rather an unexpected proposal regarding who should share the new ball with Bumrah in future. In a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Rahane suggested that Shardul Thakur be allowed to open the bowling in tandem with Jasprit Bumrah. One of the factors that Rahane has prompted his Thakur's name is his bowling skills in both the directions, and in the tendency to take the most important wickets. '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 be given the new ball, he can swing it both ways,' Rahane said. 'With the Duke ball, it generally starts to behave after 10 or 12 overs. If Shardul can start the bowling with Bumrah and Siraj can come in as one change, that will be great. I would like to see Shardul bowling more overs. Give him that freedom, and he will get you more wickets,' he added. Shardul Thakur to be dropped? A report released by NDTV claimed that Shardul Thakur might get replaced in the second Test which will be played at Edgbaston on account of his poor performance with bat and ball in the first Test. He will be replaced in the playing XI by Nitish Kumar Reddy. The reason that Shardul Thakur found his way into the playing XI was to strengthen the Indian batting line-up till No. 8. He was however disappointing with the bat as he could only score 1 and 4 in the two innings. His contribution with the ball was also minimal because he could only take two wickets in the match.
