India bowling coach Bharat Arun says the Mumbai pacer fulfils the role of fast bowling all-rounder for the team in Hardik Pandya’s absence
Shardul Thakur during the fourth Test against Australia at Brisbane earlier this year in January. Pic/AP, PTI
India bowling coach Bharat Arun on Wednesday said that Shardul Thakur has what it takes to be the fast bowling all-rounder that the team needed ever since Hardik Pandya’s back injury restricted his role with the ball.
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Pandya was not included in the Test team for the tour of England as he “was not in a position to bowl”, according to the BCCI.
Thakur impressive
Arun, in a conversation with PTI, said that while the selectors will have the last word on finding the next set of options, Thakur has certainly made a case for himself.
“It is more of a selectors’ job to find them and then we can develop those all-rounders. Shardul has proved he can be an all-rounder. What he did in Australia was fabulous,” Arun said during the interaction facilitated by Ironwood Education Company.
Bowling coach Bharat Arun. Pic/AFP
Pandya last played Test cricket for India in 2018 during the tour of England. He has been battling a back injury since 2019 and recently picked up a shoulder niggle during the IPL.
Arun agreed that finding someone as good as Pandya would be a very tough job.“ Hardik is an outstanding talent, but unfortunately, he had to undergo a back
operation and then it’s not very easy to come back after that.
“He bowled against England, I thought he did a really good job. But, to sustain that we need to manage him well and build on his strength,” he said.
The two-Test old Thakur was mighty impressive in the only longest format game he played in the away series against Australia this year, picking up seven wickets and a half century in Brisbane.
“So ideally, yes [we need to develop a seam bowling all-rounder], there must be a few [in domestic cricket]. We are always on the circuit with the Indian team, we have not had an opportunity to look at the domestic all-rounders,” Arun said.
Thakur had also spoken about his desire to be seen as a bowling all-rounder and is expected to get his fair share of chances during the upcoming tour of England.
With bio bubbles not going out of the game anytime soon, Arun said all six fast bowlers will be rotated during the tour as the team manages its players’ workload in a “big” way.
Rotation is crucial
India play six Tests in England, starting with the World Test Championship final against New Zealand from June 18. England is the only top side at the moment which has a clear cut rotation policy in place to deal with bubble fatigue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That [rotation policy] is going to be the future because the volume of cricket that is being played, and also with all the current rules which are going to exist for some time. I think it is extremely important that the players are fresh mentally, physically, so workload management is going to be big in the future.”
India have six pacers in the squad—Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Thakur, and Mohammad Siraj.
07
No. of wickets Shardul Thakur claimed in the Brisbane Test. He also scored 69 runs
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