Manjrekar slams India's "quite poor" selections, urges management to "dump inclination" towards bowling all-rounders

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 27 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar slammed Team India management for poor selection choices during the ongoing Test series against England, pointing out that the team needs to "dump their inclination" of playing a bowler just because he can offer a little something with the bat.
Manjrekar was speaking on ESPNCricinfo. During the series, Team India has continued with its 'Bat Deep' approach, allowing for all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar to play at the same time, instead of opting for one extra pure batter or spinner in Kuldeep Yadav.
The results have been mixed to say the least. While the mainstay Jadeja has offered 347 runs, including four fifties with the bat, he has done very little with the ball, taking seven wickets at an average of over 67. Sundar has been a solid selection though, taking seven wickets in three games at an average of over 35, including a four-wicket haul and scoring 104 runs in five innings, with a best score of 42. He has lessened the load of Jadeja, who has been contributing well with the bat.
But on the other hand, bowling all-rounder Shardul and Nitish have failed to do much. Though Shardul offered a vital 41 during the first innings here at Manchester, he failed at Leeds, falling for single digits in both innings. With the ball, he has only taken two wickets, averaging 72.00 and bowling just 27 overs across two matches. Nitish, on the other hand, a batting all-rounder, has taken three wickets at an average of 37.00, but just bowled 28 overs in two matches. With 45 runs in four innings, his batting has been disappointing.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that despite India's heroics with the bat, mainly by its core of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, the selection choices have been "quite poor".
"We saw what Shardul Thakur was capable of in the first Test, and despite that, he was picked again. This inclination to have a bowler because he can bat a bit has to be dumped. India, in this particular Test match, needed a pure batter," he added.
Manjrekar said that while India is currently playing the catch-up game with England, trying to eat into the 311-run deficit and currently at 174/2 with Gill and Rahul out there, a pure batter and a pure wicket-taker would have made a lot of difference.
"Kuldeep Yadav not playing the whole series tells you the approach of this Indian team management. Jadeja has got the runs, almost saw India win. But as a bowler, he has not contributed, so that has hurt India. Washington Sundar got four wickets in the last game, so Kuldeep Yadav had to sit again," he added.
While Kuldeep played one match in England back in 2018 and went wicketless, he has a fine record against England, taking 21 wickets in six matches at an average of 22.28, with best figures of 5/72. He has not played any Test cricket since the first Test against New Zealand in October 2024. Since his Test debut in 2017, he has just played 13 Tests, taking 56 scalps at an average of 22.16 and four five-wicket hauls.
Earlier in the fourth Day of the Test match, India recovered after initial shocks in their second innings of the fourth Test, but the team is still in deep waters with England scoring a massive 669 in their first innings and getting an overall lead of 311 runs over the visitors, who had made 358 runs in the second innings.
Big centuries from Joe Root and skipper Stokes and some extra runs from tailenders proved to be a serious headache for India. The Indian second innings began on a shocking note with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan going back to the pavilion on a duck. KL Rahul and Captain Shubman Gill steadied India's innings with a patient and stellar stand of 174 runs.
India finished Day 4 on 174/2 and are now 137 runs behind England. If the Indian team can salvage the match on the fifth and final day on Sunday, it will be an achievement in itself. England went wicketless in the final session as Indian batters added 126 runs to their tally, with KL Rahul 87* and Shubman Gill 78* unbeaten on the crease.
India started the third session at 86/2 with Gill, who looked in fine touch, notched up his eighth Test fifty and fourth against England off 77 deliveries. (ANI)