Shardul Thakur’s role in India’s bowling attack has come under quiet scrutiny after his limited involvement across the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In the first Test, he bowled just 16 overs — six in the first innings and the rest in the second—before being benched for the next two matches. Recalled for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Thakur bowled just five overs on Day 2, raising questions about his underutilisation.
In contrast, Jasprit Bumrah bowled 13 overs, while Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj sent down 10 overs each. Is Shardul Thakur being underbowled? Has there been any discussion with Captain Shubman Gill about his sporadic spells? Thakur admits the lack of rhythm that comes from irregular bowling stints, but was quick to acknowledge that such decisions are left to the skipper’s discretion.
“In the first match, Shubman said there wasn’t much of an opportunity for me to bowl,” Shardul Thakur explained after Day 2. “Usually, the captain makes these decisions — bowlers don’t have much say in it. As far as this match is concerned, the way things have progressed, there was probably scope for a couple more overs, but there are still three days left. Hopefully, I’ll get more overs.”
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Thakur acknowledged the challenges of maintaining bowling rhythm when there’s uncertainty about workload. “When you don’t know how many overs you’ll get or when you’ll be called upon, rhythm becomes difficult. But I’ll try to use my experience to make the most of whatever opportunities I get.”
India, after putting up 358 on a tricky pitch, struggled to make early inroads with the ball. England counterattacked aggressively, racing to 225/2 in just 46 overs. Thakur reflected on how conditions had changed drastically since the morning session.
Shardul Thakur cooked Shubman Gill the captain 😭🔥
Even his teammates don’t respect him😂
— Rohan💫 (@rohann__45) July 25, 2025
“In the morning, the ball was swinging and seaming, and we hoped it would do the same for us. But it didn’t. Perhaps we were searching too hard for swing and ended up bowling on the pads,” he admitted.
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He added that a more disciplined approach was required. “With the new ball, we could have shown more patience. We tried to hold things back later, but the runs kept coming. It wasn’t tough to bowl — just needed more control.”
