Gautam Gambhir reveals why Shubman Gill underutilized Shardul Thakur in 1st Test against England

India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir has finally explained why the skipper, Shubman Gill, underutilised pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the first Test against the England National Cricket Team.

Team India locked horns with Team England in the Test series opener at Headingley in Leeds and suffered a 5-wicket loss to go down 0-1.

Shardul Thakur did lord things in the second innings vs England

Thakur was chosen as a pace-bowling all-rounder over Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Indian playing XI for the first Test against England.

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The pace-bowling all-rounder, who had set the stage on fire during India's last tour to England, was not given enough overs to bowl in the first innings by his skipper.

Shubman Gill didn't show trust in Shardul Thakur to pick wickets, and he mostly relied on Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishn, and Ravindra Jadeja.

India bowled 100.4 overs in their first innings with the ball, and after being introduced into the attack very late, Shardul Thakur was only given 6 overs, in which he went wicketless and conceded 38 runs.

In the second innings as well, Shardul Thakur bowled the fewest overs among all Indian bowlers, but he was able to make a significant impact, picking up two wickets for 51 runs in his 10 overs.

Thakur bowled loose deliveries initially, but displayed the 'lordship' by producing a magical double-wicket over. Shardul Thakur dismissed centurion Ben Duckett for 149 and Harry Brook for a duck out of nowhere in the 55th over to help India stage a mini-comeback.

Shardul was used a little less, but the reason was... - Gautam Gambhir

At the post-match press conference, Gautam Gambhir stated that Shardul Thakur was used less with the ball because all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was bowling very well, and captain Shubman Gill decided to go with the spinner. Gautam Gambhir also lauded Shardul Thakur for his impactful spell in the second innings. He said:

"Shardul was used a little less, but the reason was probably that [Ravindra] Jadeja bowled really well, so we thought that Jadeja will give us control. Shardul got us two important wickets.

"So I'm not going to sit here and say that this guy didn't bowl well or that guy bowled well. Shardul gave us two important wickets, which got us back in the game. I think we just got to be more consistent. That is what is more important, and these boys will learn."

I think Prasidh bowled really well - Gautam Gambhir

Prasidh Krishna was the most successful bowler for India after Jasprit Bumrah in the Leeds Test against England, but he was quite expensive as he leaked 220 runs to bag 5 wickets.

Talking about Krishna, Gautam Gambhir said that the pacer bowled well and he is one for the future. The India head coach said:

"I think Prasidh bowled really well. He got us crucial wickets as well. We picked him because we thought that he's got something different. He's got that bounce, and in the first innings, I think he used that bounce really well, [and] even in the second innings.

"He'll keep getting better with experience. He's got all the ingredients of being a very good bowler, best bowler, which he had shown in Australia in Sydney and here as well. That's why I said that we'll keep backing these boys."

Gautam Gambhir also backed the Indian bowling unit after their failure to defend 371 runs in the fourth innings against England. He asserted:

"Those are inexperienced bowlers, but they will keep getting better, and we saw in this Test match as well that, for the first four days, we were in a position, and even on day five we were in a position, where we would have won the Test match. So we believe and we trust that we can. These boys will deliver for us."

Also Read: India become worst-ever Test team with a historic low under Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir