Shardul Thakur openly revolts against Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant Joins

Indian seamer Shardul Thakur blames the current skipper for not having faith in him with the ball. India played Shardul Thakur as their fourth pacer in the first Test at Headingley and then dropped him for the next two games before recalling him to the side for the fourth Test.

Shardul Thakur was brought back into the side as a likely replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been left out due to an injury to his left knee. Even pacer Anshul Kamboj made his debut for India in the Manchester Test and even provided a big breakthrough in the form of Ben Duckett.

In the match, Shardul was picked as a bowling all-rounder, but due to the injury to Rishabh Pant and the sudden fall of Sai Sudharsan's wicket late on Day 1, he was sent ahead of Washington Sundar to bat at no. 7.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Thakur was convinced by his batting performance, as he batted throughout the first day's remaining play and ended up scoring 41 runs before he got out on Day 2. However, he did not have the best of spells with the ball, as he was uneconomical on another occasion.

Shardul Thakur blames Shubman Gill for not having faith in him

In the post-match interview, Shardul Thakur was questioned about whether he was content with the number of overs handed to him during the Indian bowling innings. Shardul bowled just 5 overs as India's fourth seamer again.

When Shardul Thakur played the first test at Headingley, there was immense criticism of Shubman Gill and the Indian management for not having used him to the maximum of his potential.

Shardul had then bowled just 16 overs across the two innings. India bowled in and picked 2 wickets in the second innings as well. However, many suggested that he should be given the ball more often, since gametime is essential for anyone to dominate.

"Giving bowling is the captain’s call. Not in my hands. The captain decides when to give. I could have bowled two more overs today, but that is the captain’s call. Difficult to find rhythm, but I try and use my experience," said Shardul Thakur in response to fewer overs, as quoted by Sahil Malhotra.

Shardul Thakur on Rishabh Pant's probable presence in the second innings

Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant took the field despite suffering a painful injury to his right foot that ruled him out of the field on Day 1. His leg has a fracture, which was confirmed by the BCCI and the Indian management.

They had also called for players who could replace the Indian vice-captain for the last Test at The Oval. However, for this match, if Pant doesn't take the field, India would be down to 10 batters. Hence, Pant made it to the field when Shardul Thakur was dismissed as the 6th Indian wicket.

Thakur made some massive revelations about Pant: that he was not travelling in the team bus since he was in the hospital, and later joined the Indian team. Even with a fractured leg and an imbalanced stance, Pant scored his 5th 50+ score of the series.

"It will be his call. He didn’t come in bus today because he was in the hospital. He wasn’t on the ground when we were warming up. It is a fracture - the news is already out," reveals Thakur on Pant's probable return for the second Indian innings, as quoted by Sahil Malhotra.

Indian bowlers struggle to penetrate against English openers

Indian bowlers visibly struggled to bowl against the English openers on Day 2 of the Manchester Test, a day when the England bowlers had bothered the Indian batsmen with abrupt swing and accuracy in line and length.

Despite having Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the side, the only two Indian wickets fell after Zak Crawley scored 84 and Ben Duckett reached the doorstep of a hundred with 94.

Ravindra Jadeja provided the first breakthrough, while Duckett was then dismissed by debutant Anshul Kamboj. England is in a dominating position with 225 runs at the loss of just 2 wickets.

ALSO READ: Watch: Mohammed Siraj-Ben Duckett fire heavy artillery at each other