Shubman Gill receives orders to end Shardul Thakur's England tour

The India vs England Test match at Headingley marked Shubman Gill's debut as the Indian skipper in test cricket. The Indian lineup already shocked all, since they picked Shardul Thakur as the fast-bowling all-rounder in the squad.

Shardul Thakur was picked as a no. 8 to strengthen India's batting core, which would have been lightened by the presence of Akash Deep or Arshdeep Singh.

Shardul went wicketless in the first innings; however, during the 53rd over of the second innings, former England skipper Michael Atherton called for Shardul Thakur to produce something special.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

He urged from the commentary box that this might be the end of his career if he didn't produce something special. In the very next over of his, the Indian star boy picked 2 wickets on 2 balls to bring India right back into the game.

However, taking the two wickets out, Shardul's impact on the game was ridiculously off, as former Indian great Sanjay Manjrekar urged Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir to drop Shardul Thakur from the second test at Edgbaston.

Shardul Thakur's performance at Headingley

Shardul Thakur was the least-used resource of captain Shubman Gill in the Headingley test, as the fourth Indian seamer bowled just 16 overs in both innings combined.

Picked as a decent batter down the order, Shardul Thakur could only manage 1 and 4 runs in the two innings, while his bowling figures included 6 overs for 38 runs without a wicket in the first inning, followed by 10 overs in the second inning.

However, in the fourth inning of play, Shardul, brought into the attack, struck in his very second over of the spell with the huge wicket of Ben Duckett for 149. Duckett was dismissed off a provoking delivery wide outside the off-stump, while Harry Brook was caught down the leg off the very next delivery.

Though Thakur might have picked two wickets, this can surely be called a pair of lucky breakthroughs, as neither of the wickets fell on a delivery that looked like a genuine wicket-taking ball in test cricket.

Sanjay Manjrekar urges Shubman Gill to call for a change at Edgbaston

After a set of lower-order collapses and no such special impact with the ball either, Shardul Thakur has been suggested to be dropped by the former Indian opener Sanjay Manjrekar.

He has urged coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill to call for a change in the Indian test side.

"I'm sorry but Shardul Thakur has to go out," Sanjay Manjrekar was noted saying on JioHotstar after India lost the game by 5 wickets.

He urged that English summers are largely dry in recent times, owing to global warming, as a result of which spinners might find their gates open to reintroduce themselves under English conditions.

He clearly urged Shubman Gill not to pick a side based only on conditions but also on common sense.

Manjrekar states that despite having Kuldeep Yadav in the side, he would not suggest a fourth seamer in the Shubman Gill-led team just because India is playing in England.

"Ben Stokes has already changed the narrative with common-sense, aggressive cricket. India needs to embrace the same clarity. There was a time when India would play three spinners no matter what — whether in New Zealand or England."

"If Kuldeep is in your squad, play him. Don’t go with seamers just because you’re playing in England. I’d drop one seamer and bring in Kuldeep Yadav,” remarked Manjrekar is praise for the England skipper.

ALSO READ: Jofra Archer to be heavily punished by England cricket! Dark clouds over India series comeback

Nitish Kumar Reddy or Kuldeep Yadav: Who's more effective for captain Shubman Gill at England?

Keeping Shardul Thakur out of the team, many Indian cricket fans would think of Nitish Kumar Reddy as the batter at no. 8 to strengthen India's lower-order batting.

However, conditions in Australia might have been favourable for Nitish Reddy, the requirement of a fourth seamer with an impact on the red ball excludes Reddy from such a role.

As of now, Kuldeep Yadav, the experienced spinner, remains one of the best choices for the India Playing 11. His experience might be of some use to the Indians to cut through Ben Stokes' approach to test cricket.