Indian great Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn Shardul Thakur after his underperformance in the Leeds Test. He openly criticized Shubman Gill, as he took him 39 overs to hand over the ball to Shardul in the first innings.
Even after handing over the ball to the fourth Indian seamar for so long, he was given two mantras, including only 3 overs, as Shardul Thakur bowled 6 overs in the first innings in Headingley. The difference between the two mantras was 22 overs; He bowled the innings in just 6 overs, giving just 36 runs without wickets.
The same saga continued in the second innings, when until the 19th place of the match, Shubman did not think of handing over the ball to Shardul Thakur. Although India was struggling on the last day of the game, Shardul, who took two wickets in the game, bowled in just 10 overs in the second innings and ended with 10–0-51–2 figures.
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Ravichandran Ashwin Slams Shubman Gill
Ashwin mentioned Joe Root’s batting in Headingley and commented that if Jaspreet Bumrah did not seem effective, the right time to bring to Shardul Thakur was when Joe Root reached the crease after two back-to-back wickets from fame Krishna. Sharadul has a great record against England veteran Joe Root, which rejected him twice in England.
India bowled a total of 182.4 in Leeds, as England’s batting side scored 465 runs in the first innings and was stunning to chase a record 371 runs in the second innings of the play. In two innings, Shardul bowled just 16 overs, who did not bowl 10 percent in the total overs.
“You have taken Shardul Thakur in the team and have not given him a ball in the first 40 overs. And Joe was batting. And Shardul’s Joe Joe is a very good match against Root. So, if Shardul Thakur’s role is not less, I actually rate Shardul as a cricketer.”
“They have caught Ben Docket and Harry Brook. They can make things. But they will have to use them at the right time. But if it is going to be used, it is going to be, then I don’t think he is really not making any meaning. Because he has to be given a ball to differentiate. He did not bowl so much out of 40.”
Ashwin said, “He did not bowl so much in the second innings. Obviously, much more than the first innings. So, his role was very limited and I think it is very unfair to raise an argument on what he did,” Ashwin said.
Shardul Thakur’s statistics in England in Test
Shardul Thakur, who has never been in the role of frontline test pacer, has made a significant impact for Team India.
Sharadul has played 11 Tests for India, which is making his debut against the West Indies in 2018. Shardul has scored 331 runs with his 4 half -century with a 19.47 batting average, while he has also taken 31 wickets.
He has a respectable average of minimum 13 -over bowling in his test career per innings, as he has given 16 percent of India’s total overs in Test cricket. In those matches, Indian bowlers claimed 187 Test wickets, of which Thakur’s 31 wickets contributed 17 percent of the total wickets.
Shardul Thakur has bowled in 5 Tests in England, and he has taken 12 wickets in those games. Shardul has batted in most of the matches outside India, where England is his favorite opposition. As the batsman scored 178 runs, at an average of 19.77, three of his four half -centuries came to English soil.
Shardul Thakur returned to a successful domestic season and IPL in the Indian side
Shardul Thakur last played a Test for the Test series in South Africa for the Test series. He played the match at Centurion in 2023, the post which was not part of the Shardul Indian side.
After being unusable initially at the IPL 2025 auction, he was later added as a replacement of Mohsin Khan, injured in the Lucknow Super Giants squad. Sharadul bowled as a pacer in the LSG deck as a pacer, as he was fit in the role with a new ball as well as fit in the role with an affordable overs crunch on death.
Shardul played 10 games for LSG in IPL 2025 and took 13 wickets, although later in the last few matches, his economy was given a blow by big hitting batsmen. Shahardul Thakur’s commanding form along with both bat and ball in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai was also one of the Trump cards for his selection in the Indian testing side.