"Shardul can start the bowling with Siraj" - Discarded India batter's huge claim after ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

India batter Ajinkya Rahane made a huge claim regarding Shardul Thakur after the first Test between England and India. England beat the visitors by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Talking on his YouTube channel, Ajinkya Rahane spoke about Shardul Thakur's role and how the team can use him better in the coming Tests. He expressed his desire to see Shardul bowling more as he believes him to be a wicket-taking option.

"I feel an all-rounder's role is very important. Shardul Thakur has been an experienced player and has done well in Test cricket overseas. I want to see more overs from Shardul. If the Indian team can use Shardul Thakur in a better way, that will be great. Whatever I have seen with him, he can swing the ball both ways and is a wicket-taker. If Shardul can bowl the first change or even given the new ball he can swing it both ways," he said (2:47).

Further, Rahane added that he would like to see Shardul open the bowling alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

"With the duke ball, it generally starts to behave after 10 or 12 overs. If Shardul can start the bowling with Bumrah and Siraj can come in as one change, that will be great. I would like to see Shardul bowling more overs. Give him that freedom, he will get you more wickets."

Rahane also spoke about Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul in the first innings and praised the ace pacer for his approach during the spell.

"Bumrah's five wicket-haul in the first innings was amazing. Apart from his five wickets what I liked about Bumrah was his intent. The way he was running in his run-up. His intensity throughout his bowling was amazing. The lines and lengths that he bowled. He was aggressive throughout in his bowling approach," he explained (1:24).

However, the batter also highlighted the fact that the other Indian bowlers will have to take responsibility and support Bumrah in the coming Tests.

"What I would like to see is support from the other end. Bumrah is obviously bowling his attacking lengths but if he can support from Siraj and Prasidh, that will be great for him. You don't want Bumrah under pressure and start bowling too many overs and the pressure comes on the team. I want to see Siraj taking that responsibility and also Prasidh if he plays that second Test match."

The second Test is set to begin on Wednesday, July 2, at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

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"India would like to forget about this Test and move forward" - Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane, in the same video, also added that Shubman Gill and his team should forget about the first Test and move forward. He spoke about the bowlers doing well in patches, but reckons that they will need to be more consistent.

"India would like to forget about this Test and move forward though I feel there were lot of positives. We batted well. Five hundreds. We bowled well in patches but bowling unit would like to be consistent and try and help each other." (4:37)

The Indian players were also criticised for their poor fielding as they dropped several catches that cost them the game. Rahane called for the need to improve the fielding going forward.

"One area everyone is talking about is fielding. Indian fielders would like to take those catches. I am sure they will work really hard. All the players are brilliant fielders. It can happen to anyone. If they can improve on fielding, batting wise we did really well. So I think fielding wise the Indian team would like to improve," he said.

The visitors will be eager to bounce back in Edgbaston and level the series after the opening defeat in Leeds.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer