Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has demanded a significant bowling strategy change in India before the second Test against England, and it involves dropping Shardul Thakur to make room for left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India's bowling unit was severely tested when England chased down a towering 371-run target with five wickets intact in the first Test at Headingley.
While the standout performer was Jasprit Bumrah with a five-wicket haul in the first innings, his pace attack colleagues Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur could not provide any support.
"Kuldeep Yadav needs to return. Sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur needs to be sent out," said Manjrekar on Match Centre Live. "That is one adjustment India will need to do."
Manjrekar, who had earlier advocated Nitish Kumar Reddy's selection due to his performance in Australia, recognized that although the young player brings hope, he throws the bowling balance of the team out of gear.
It's an unpopular decision, because when he does walk in, balance does get disrupted a bit. He won't bowl quite like a fourth seamer, so India need to make a tough decision: even in English conditions, they have to play quality bowlers," Manjrekar asserted. "If that means two spinners, so be it. Choose your best bowlers, regardless of the conditions.
Pointing towards the lack of Mohammed Shami and a complete pace unit, he hinted that India can spare one seamer to fit in Kuldeep. "You do not have the luxury of having someone like Mohammed Shami at your disposal. Kuldeep has to play."
Manjrekar also pointed towards the change in nature of English pitches, claiming they are not as seam-friendly as before.
"Let's also accept that English summers these days are mainly dry — courtesy of global warming, maybe — and that does leave the door ajar for spin," he explained. "In a sense, it's time to reintroduce the concept of India playing spin in England."
Drawing parallels with the past, he recalled how India once fielded three spinners regardless of the venue. “If Kuldeep is in your squad, play him. Don’t go with seamers just because you’re playing in England,” he stressed.
‘Jadeja Could Have Done More’
Manjrekar also didn’t hold back in his criticism of Ravindra Jadeja, who he felt underused the rough patches available to him on the final day.
"It's not being too harsh on younger players like Prasidh Krishna — there are things he is clearly working on improving. But I am going to be harsh with Ravindra Jadeja," he said.
"This was a final-day pitch with patches of unevenness for him to attack. And although there were two or three opportunities, we need to see more from a player of his experience," Manjrekar further stated.
He noted that Jadeja utilized the rough effectively only towards the later part of Ben Duckett's innings, even though he had conditions in his favor. "Against Ben Stokes, yes, certainly he did try. But it was only much later in Duckett's innings that Jadeja began employing the rough correctly."
The old batter summed up by calling for more awareness of tactics from seasoned campaigners. "The seamers had no assistance from the surface — but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch to his advantage," he stated.
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