“When he did bowl, he did not bowl very nicely, but to give six overs when you have bowled so much is not a great picture,” Dinesh Karthik said.
Match Overview
Shardul Thakur was picked in India’s playing XI for the first Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as the seam-bowling all-rounder. He got the nod ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had replaced him and played all five games in the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year.
However, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik wasn’t too pleased with how skipper Shubman Gill used Shardul’s bowling ability in England’s first innings. The Mumbai all-rounder bowled just six overs and conceded 38 runs without picking up a wicket. The second-lowest number of overs bowled by an Indian bowler in the first innings was 20. Prasidh Krishna bagged three wickets while conceding 128 runs.
Karthik opined that it is no use having Shardul on the side if the management doesn’t trust his bowling abilities. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator did acknowledge the fact that Shardul couldn’t apply any pressure on the English batters, and that is why he felt that Shubman didn’t use him too much with the ball.
“The Shardul Thakur decision that Team India’s management needs to look at – If they are not going to trust his bowling, why are they playing him? That is definitely an issue. If you are not going to trust a bowler, why have you played him? I understand when you play four fast bowlers, you are not going to give equal opportunity for Shardul,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“When he did bowl, he did not bowl very nicely, but to give six overs when you have bowled so much is not a great picture. I feel bad for Shardul but I can understand what a Shubman is thinking. He is able to create more pressure on England when the other bowlers are bowling.” he added.
They have selected him, but haven’t shown faith in him: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra echoed Karthik’s views, criticising the Indian team management for not giving the 33-year-old a long spell. The former India opener feels that either the team management underutilised him or they lack sufficient faith in his abilities.
“I am thinking about Shardul Thakur’s utilisation. They have selected him, but haven’t shown faith in him. Of course, he bowled a few overs and was very expensive, but then you didn’t bowl him at all for long spells. All bowlers bowled 20-plus overs, but Shardul Thakur was in single digits,” Chopra said in a video posted on his official YouTube channel.
“The second new ball came, the first new ball came and went, the ball became old as well, but either it is underutilization of resources or the second thing could be that you don’t have faith in him, and that is a bigger concern. Why did you play him if you don’t have faith in him?” he added.
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