India Should Play Shardul Thakur Instead Of Bhuvneshwar Kumar If Hardik Pandya Is Not Bowling, Says Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian seamer Ajit Agarkar has opined that India should play Shardul Thakur ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar if fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya is not able to bowl.

Hardik Pandya who has been named in India’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad as an all-rounder has not bowled for quite some time now. In his recent IPL stint with Mumbai Indians (MI) Hardik was playing as a pure batsman in the team. Also in the recent warmup game against England, the 28-year old didn’t bowl.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Ajit Agarkar said that the Indian captain would love to have six bowling options ; 3 spinners & 3 pacers in the team if the pitch is flat. He said:

“Relatively certain that Virat Kohli would like six bowling options. If the pitch has something to offer, then you can perhaps take a chance with five bowlers, but if it’s a flat pitch, he would ideally want to go in with six bowlers with three seamers and they have lots of spin options.“

You Can Treat Ravindra Jadeja As One Of The Top-order Batsmen – Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian pacer believes that spin bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is a trustable batsman and he can bat up the order. Agarkar said:

“And Jadeja is an all-rounder whose batting has come out in leaps and bounds. So, you can treat him as one of the top-order batsmen.”

Talking about his six bowling options in the team in the absence of Hardik Pandya the bowler, Ajit Agarkar stated:

“So, my six options if Hadik Pandya is not to bowl – would be Bumrah, Shami, Shardul, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar,”

Notably, Agarkar didn’t pick experienced campaigner Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who conceded 54 runs in 4 overs in the Warm-up Match England. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see will India will drop Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second warm-up match Australia or not. The India vs Australia warm-up match will be played on Wednesday and after that India will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: Ishan Kishan Could Replace Suryakumar Yadav If Necessary – Salman Butt