Manjrekar Calls for Thakur's Omission, Yadav's Inclusion as India Seeks Spin Boost After Test Loss

Manjrekar Advocates for Spin, Calls for Pacer's Omission After Test Defeat

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is urging the team management to revamp the bowling attack following India's loss to England in the first Test. He specifically suggests replacing Shardul Thakur with left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav to address the bowling frailties exposed during England's successful run chase of 371 runs.

Ravindra Jadeja under scrutiny after the first Test

Despite Jasprit Bumrah's impressive five-wicket haul in the first innings, the other pace bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur, struggled to create a significant impact. This allowed England to secure a victory with five wickets to spare.

"Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I'm sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur has to go out," Manjrekar stated on 'Match Centre Live'.

He further elaborated, "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."

Shardul Thakur faces scrutiny after India's defeat

"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."

Manjrekar highlighted the evolving English conditions, noting that drier summers are increasingly conducive to spin bowling.

"Let's also acknowledge that English summers these days are largely dry - thanks to global warming, perhaps - and that does open the door for spin. In a way, it's time to reintroduce the idea of India playing spin in England. Ben Stokes has already changed the narrative with common-sense, aggressive cricket. India need to embrace the same clarity."

He added, "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."

Expectations Higher for Jadeja

Manjrekar also shared his thoughts on Ravindra Jadeja's performance.

"It's not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna - there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience."

"I felt he didn't use the rough nearly enough — especially against Ben Duckett. Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett's innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly. When you're dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing. The seamers had no help from the surface — but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favour."