Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar said that India should consider playing all-rounder Shardul Thakur prior to the speedster Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test against England. His comments came as Bumrah was not in good form in the World Test Championship final and that will be a huge worry for India.

However, Monty Panesar said that Bumrah’s go-to delivery hits the back-of-the-length and he should bowl fuller to be successful in England as well. In a video on the YouTube channel ‘Behind The Stumps with Anuj’, Monty Panesar explained why Shardul Thakur is more effective than Bumrah.

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“I think Jasprit Bumrah needs to pitch it up a little bit and move more in the air. He bowls like that back of a length a little quick and that is going to beat the bat most of the times. I just don’t think his natural length is to hit the top of off-stump. His natural length is to slightly bowl a yard shorter and to bowl it real quick. So I think Shardul Thakur will be a better option. He can bat as well,” Panesar opined.

Meanwhile, one of India’s major problems in the recent past is dismissing the opposition tailenders and the same thing was seen during the WTC final. Moreover, they were troubled by the tails in their last visit in 2018 as well. However, Monty Panesar said Team India can utilise Shardul Thakur to dismiss them as he has the ability to produce genuine outswing along with his natural fuller length deliveries which force the batsmen to play false shots and they can dismiss them.

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“Shardul Thakur will be a good option against the England tail because he pitches the ball up. He does bowl that natural English conditions length. In England it is about hitting the top of off-stump,” Monty Panesar concluded.