Shardul Thakur Openly Blames Shubman Gill And Gautam Gambhir For India Exit

Shardul Thakur takes stern dig at Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir [Source: AFP]

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has opened up about his role in India’s Test series against England, claiming that he was underused as a bowler and could have made a bigger impact if given more opportunities. 

Shardul was part of the Indian team led by Shubman Gill and coached by Gautam Gambhir during the five-Test series, which ended in a 2-2 draw. He played only 2 games and fetched 2 wickets in 27 overs while conceding 144 runs.

In both matches, Thakur bowled the least number of overs among the bowlers. That lack of faith by the captain and the coach left a scar on Shardul’s mind.

Shardul Thakur takes a dig at Gill, Gambhir

Recently, speaking to reporters at an event, Shardul Thakur openly admitted that he was not used in the right phases of the game during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. 

According to him, after a strong domestic season for Mumbai, where he picked up 35 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.62, he expected to play a bigger role for India.

"After the 2024-25 season, the kind of season I had, I think I could have played a few more games and literally made a difference. When I played in England, I was not utilised properly in bowling. In batting, yes, it was my mistake that I played a loose shot in Leeds. But in Manchester, I batted beautifully,” Thakur said.

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Shardul pointed towards specific moments from the Test series, like the first game in Leeds, where England were chasing 373 runs, and Shardul dismissed Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in the 55th over. But after taking those wickets, he was taken out of the attack.

Shardul felt he should have continued because another breakthrough could have changed the match. He said that if he had bowled a longer spell, India might have created more pressure.

“So, if you see that in Leeds, I got those two back-to-back wickets, and India was back in the game, but then I was stopped again. So that's where I could have bowled a longer spell, maybe got another wicket and then the other bowlers would have come in, and we could have won that game also. So again, ifs and buts,” he added.

Thakur refrained from pinning the blame on Shubman Gill

Having said that, despite having reservations about his role in the Indian Test squad, Shardul Thakur did not blame captain Shubman Gill.  

He revealed that he did not approach the captain or coach to complain because players usually focus on executing whatever role they are given.

“My comments are not going to change the scenario of that game and the result of that game. But yeah, I mean, you don't end up having these kinds of conversations usually with the captain and all. You basically take whatever has been asked of you to do.”

The all-rounder accepted that decisions were made during the match and said his comments would not change the result.

Shardul Thakur dropped from India-Afghanistan series

Having said that, the India-England Test series remains Shardul Thakur’s last assignment with the Indian Test team. He was dropped from the one-off Test against Afghanistan that was played in Mullanpur in June.

He is already being sidelined from the ODI and T20I squads due to competition and inconsistent performances. For now, he is focused on playing domestic cricket for Mumbai, and the hope of an international comeback is still alive.

India’s next Test assignment is against New Zealand in November. By then, if Shardul Thakur manages to make an impact with his domestic run, he will definitely grab the selection committee’s attention.

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