“Your batting will get lengthened if you play him at No. 8” - Irfan Pathan opens up on inclusion of Washington Sundar for 2nd Test

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has opened up on the bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur not utilizing his opportunity in the Leeds Test against England in the ongoing five-match Test series.

Interestingly, Thakur bowled only 16 overs in the Leeds Test, scalping two wickets, both coming in the fourth innings. Pathan further felt that Thakur should’ve been brought into the attack a bit earlier.

"It was definitely disappointing the way Shardul Thakur bowled. It was his first game. He was making a comeback after a long time. It's not easy, and he wasn't used as much as he should have been with the ball. He could have been introduced a little earlier. You don't see that much zip in his bowling with a very old ball," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Also, Pathan asserted that Shardul, who didn’t look comfortable with the willow in the Leeds Test, could be axed and Kuldeep Yadav or Washington Sundar can be included in the XI in his place. He vouched for Sundar’s inclusion in order to not see any collapse.

"There were many factors, but the most disappointing thing I found was that he cannot let the collapse happen if he is batting at No. 8. Since Shardul didn't look that comfortable while batting, the Indian team have the option of Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Your batting will get lengthened if you play Washington Sundar at No. 8. The collapse won't happen," he added.

"You will expect at least 15 to 20 runs from him. He should give more as he is a better batsman than Shardul. So, in my opinion, you should play Washington Sundar at No. 8. The Indian team can control the collapses to a large extent. England's bowling will keep getting better. So you will have to lengthen your batting," he concluded.

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