Former India spinner R Ashwin has said that Team India were hesitant to use pacers Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj during the recently concluded drawn fourth Test against England. However, debutant Kamboj bowled 18
overs, while Thakur bowled 11 out of the 157.1 overs bowled in England’s only innings at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Speaking on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’, he said, “You do not have the confidence to use Kamboj or Shardul. Bowling is very different to batting. You can have a bad spell, but you can always come back. This is not the first time. Shardul wasn’t used at all at Headingley as well. If you are looking at Shardul Thakur like Nitish Reddy, then there is no point. Shardul Thakur is a bowling all-rounder, while Nitish Reddy is a batting all-rounder. If you are looking at that role and want just batting, play a batter.”

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“He will have to think about one thing for sure. If he knows that he is going to give a bowler 10 overs and bring a bowler after 70 overs, does he need an extra bowler? Please ask yourself that question. If this is how you are going to utilize a certain resource, it means you have low confidence in that bowler, or you have made a mistake. If it is a mistake, correct it. But if you do not have confidence in those bowlers, change your bowlers,” Ashwin added again.

R Ashwin also stated that Kuldeep Yadav should be a part of India’s playing XI in the ongoing Test series. However, he is yet to play a match in the series.

“The success story of Washington Sundar as a batter should give Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir the chance to play Kuldeep Yadav. My subscribers write in the comments that I talk a lot about Kuldeep. I don’t know what will happen at Oval, it is not the most conducive pitch for spinners right now. But we have no option. Please consider Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar as batters, let them play in the top six, bring Dhruv Jurel in, and please give that opportunity to Kuldeep Yadav,” he stated.

“Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja are high-quality batters who can bowl really well. He (Sundar) is a batter who can bowl; Jadeja has also turned himself into a batter who can bowl. You have to look at them as top six batters who can give you a lot of balance,” R Ashwin concluded.