Team India fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur shared his honest opinion on warming the bench in recent matches and drawing parallels with the situations faced by Abhimanyu Easwaran and Kuldeep Yadav. Shardul was picked in the squad for the five-match Test series against England, but he played only two matches. He got the chance in the first Test at Leeds but failed to impress with both bat and ball and ended up losing his spot in the XI for the next two matches.
Shardul revealed that he can relate to what Kudeep and Easwaran are going through and said that in these situations, the players start getting bored.
Speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz, Shardul said “On a few occasions, I was also in the same boat. As a player, you go through a lot of emotions, and it’s not easy to sit out, questioning yourself about what you are doing, not getting a game. There are two things. As I mentioned earlier, not everyone is privileged enough to be on the Indian side. The second thing is, unfortunately, the competition is high in India, and only 11 of them get to be a part of the actual playing team.”
He added, “We need to understand that this is likely the best 11 that management is considering, based on the pitch and weather conditions. You’ll have to tell your mind that this was not my game, and it’s also a lot to be able to travel with the team and share the dressing room with the rest. I don’t have many answers to this one, but one just needs to wait around for that one chance.”
Meanwhile, Kuldeep and Easwaran didn’t get even a single match on the tour. Despite heavy backing from experts, Kuldeep was overlooked as Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill opted for Washington Sundar due to his batting depth. Easwaran, meanwhile, who had also travelled to Australia earlier, still awaits his Test debut.
Both Kuldeep and Eswaran are expected to feature next in the 2025 edition of the Duleep Trophy, with Kuldeep playing for Central Zone and Easwaran for East Zone.
Kuldeep Yadav has not featured in Test cricket since the first Test against New Zealand in October 2024. Since his debut in the longest format of the game in 2017, he has played just 13 games, taking 56 scalps at an average of 22.16 and four five-wicket hauls. The decision not to play Kuldeep has attracted criticism as he is a wicket-taking spin bowler, as suggested by his strike rate of 37.3, which is the highest among all spin bowlers with at least 50 Test wickets. In 13 matches, he has taken 56 wickets, with four five-wicket hauls.
Easwaran, meanwhile, has been a domestic cricket stalwart for Bengal, with 101 first-class games, 7,674 runs at an average of 48.87, 27 centuries and 29 fifties behind him. Yet, he continues to wait for his Test debut.
