'Not A Baby': Former Coach Slams Shardul Thakur After Horrible Spell At Centurion
Shardul Thakur managed just one wicket in first Test [AP Photo]
One of the main reasons behind India's thumping an innings and 32 runs defeat in the Centurion Test against South Africa was lacklustre bowling.
Led by Jasprit Bumrah, the likes of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna failed to support the mainline bowlers and bowled with a lack of discipline, which enabled South African batters to score freely and take the match away from India's grasp.
Thakur, in particular, displayed ordinary bowling, leaking 101 runs in 19 overs and claiming the wicket of Dean Elgar, who had already slammed 185.
Former India coach and player Ravi Shastri has come down hard on the all-rounder for his poor showing, stating that Thakur is a fourth seamer and not a baby.
Interestingly, since Thakur's seven-for in Johannesburg Test in 2022, the player has taken just seven wickets in as many red-ball matches for India.
As quoted by Hindustan Times, Shastri further backed left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh to toil hard in First-Class cricket and be a contender in Tests as well for overseas conditions.
"India lacked experience in their bowling attack. They’ve got two of them who are reasonable experienced - (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Siraj - but they missed (Mohammed) Shami big time. Shardul Thakur is not a baby, but he is the 4th seamer. You need a proper third seamer and that makes a massive difference overseas," Shastri said.
"The thing is you want to see his First-Class record. Can he bowl long spells? Has he played a lot of Ranji Trophy cricket? I would in fact go and make him play a lot of it, Ranji and First-Class cricket and keep him in the mix because if someone can swing it like he did with the white ball in South Africa, he could be a handy customer."
The second and final Test will commence on January 3 at Cape Town, for which the BCCI has included Avesh Khan as a replacement for Mohammed Shami.
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