Even though the Indian team was poor in the first Test against South Africa at Centurion, they more than compensated after a stunning win in the second, at Cape Town. Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar is of the opinion that bowlers were the main reason, as to why India lost the first Test, but defender Shardul Thakur, who didn’t feature in the second match.
Shardul, who is an all-rounder in his own right, gave away 101 runs in just 19 overs, and picked up just one wicket. Then for Cape Town Test, 30-year-old Mukesh Kumar replaced him, and also bagged four wickets. Manjrekar revealed the reason, why India might have played Shardul in the first Test.
“I understand why they wanted batting depth with Shardul, especially given that they have new players batting at 1,3 & 5 and also Shardul’s record in South Africa. I think it is unfair to blame everything on Shardul Thakur. I feel India generally didn’t bowl well in that Test match and that didn’t allow them a series win,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying on ESPNcricinfo.
“I fear Shardul Thakur will have to wait a while to play his next Test match. They will have to look at his bowling. It is not that he scored 40-50 with the bat either. He might not play a Test match for a while now as India will find other ways of strengthening their batting,” Manjrekar added.
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