Team India’s decision to send out Shardul Thakur to bat at No. 7 ahead of the in-form Washington Sundar has stunned cricket experts during the ongoing fourth Test against England in Manchester. Commentators and former Indian cricketers Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik expressed their views on the move, while Ricky Ponting tried to understand the logic behind it.
On Day One, after India lost Sai Sudharsan’s wicket, coach Gautam Gambhir and the team decided to send Shardul in instead of Sundar with an hour left in the day’s play. The decision left the commentary panel surprised.
Expressing his concern, Ponting said he didn’t see the sense in sending out Shardul to face the new ball with 40 minutes still left in the day, especially when Sundar had a better Test batting record.
“I’m just trying to work out the logic from India here as to why they’ve sent Shardul in ahead of Washington Sundar. Just looking at the numbers, I mean, Washington averages nearly 39 in Test cricket and Shardul is down at 17. And he’s [Sundar] not being sent out. He’s [Shardul] not a night watchman, there’s still 40 minutes of play here, and a new ball around the corner,” Ponting said.
Agreeing with Ponting, Shastri recalled Shardul’s poor outing in the series opener at Leeds:
“All the more reason [to send Sundar ahead of Shardul]. He played in the first Test match. Dismissed pretty cheaply, a couple of loose shots,” Shastri said.
Karthik echoed the same sentiment, pointing out that Sundar has consistently performed well with the bat and should have been promoted in the order.
“I was extremely surprised too, considering how well Washington has batted, not only in this series, but in the recent past – and he’s batted better with batters around. He’s not been that effective with the tail,” Karthik mentioned.
Eventually, Shardul scored 41, while Washington made 27 batting at No. 8, as India posted a first-innings total of 358.
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