Not Mohammed Siraj, Ajinkya Rahane wants THIS ex-CSK star to open bowling with Jasprit Bumrah in Tests vs England

New Delhi: India started their five-match Test series against England on a bad note after they fell to a five-wicket defeat in the first match at Leeds. Another main issue with the defeat was that there was no backing of Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling line. On the one hand, there is Bumrah, whose performance was above par. But on the other hand, the rest of the pace attack had trouble to perform, either they conceded too many runs or could not make breakthroughs. Mohammed Siraj shared the new ball with Bumrah in the Test but former vice-captain and an experience Test player Ajinkya Rahane has now made rather an unexpected proposal regarding who should share the new ball with Bumrah in future.

In a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Rahane suggested that Shardul Thakur be allowed to open the bowling in tandem with Jasprit Bumrah. One of the factors that Rahane has prompted his Thakur’s name is his bowling skills in both the directions, and in the tendency to take the most important wickets.

“I feel an all-rounder’s role is very important. Shardul Thakur has been an experienced player and has done well in Test cricket overseas. I want to see more overs from Shardul. If the Indian team can use Shardul Thakur in a better way, that will be great. Whatever I have seen with him, he can swing the ball both ways and is a wicket-taker. If Shardul can bowl the first change or even be given the new ball, he can swing it both ways,” Rahane said.

“With the Duke ball, it generally starts to behave after 10 or 12 overs. If Shardul can start the bowling with Bumrah and Siraj can come in as one change, that will be great. I would like to see Shardul bowling more overs. Give him that freedom, and he will get you more wickets,” he added.

Shardul Thakur to be dropped?

A report released by NDTV claimed that Shardul Thakur might get replaced in the second Test which will be played at Edgbaston on account of his poor performance with bat and ball in the first Test. He will be replaced in the playing XI by Nitish Kumar Reddy.

The reason that Shardul Thakur found his way into the playing XI was to strengthen the Indian batting line-up till No. 8. He was however disappointing with the bat as he could only score 1 and 4 in the two innings. His contribution with the ball was also minimal because he could only take two wickets in the match.

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