Manjrekar picks THIS player in place of Shardul Thakur for upcoming match

Following the loss against England in the first Test match, former Team India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the management should drop Shardul Thakur and pick wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

“Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I`m sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur has to go out,” Manjrekar said on `Match Centre Live`.

In England`s first innings, lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah returned with a five-wicket haul to his name. Other pacers, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Thakur failed to provide the required support in the match.

Further, Manjrekar also said that he backed Nitish Kumar Reddy for the first Test match, considering his performance in Australia.

“That is one change India will have to make. As for Nitish Kumar Reddy, I backed him for the first Test purely based on what he did in Australia. It`s an unpopular choice, because when he comes in, the balance does get affected a bit. He won`t quite bowl like a fourth seamer, so India need to take a hard call: even in English conditions, they must go with quality bowlers,” said the veteran of 37 Test matches.

Further pressing more on Kuldeep`s inclusion for the second Test, Manjrekar stated that if the team doesn`t have the likes of Mohammed Shami, then he would enter the match with one less pacer and bring the spinner in the mix.

“If that means playing two spinners, so be it. Pick your best bowlers, irrespective of the conditions. You don`t have the luxury of someone like Mohammed Shami available, or the full-strength pace battery, so I`d go one seamer short and bring Kuldeep into the XI. He has to play,” he said.

He then stated that earlier India used to include three spinners irrespective of the side they were playing against.

“There was a time when India would play three spinners no matter what, whether in New Zealand or England. If Kuldeep is in your squad, play him. Don`t go with seamers just because you`re playing in England. I`d drop one seamer and bring in Kuldeep Yadav,” said the 59-year-old.

Over the years, Kuldeep Yadav has emerged as an exceptional spinner for India in white-ball formats. The Shubman Gill-led side will face England for the second Test from July 2 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground.

(With PTI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day