"I was also in the same boat"- Shardul Thakur on Kuldeep Yadav and Abhimanyu Easwaran being benched in the ENG vs IND series

Shardul Thakur said it’s not easy for any player to sit out throughout a series.

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has shared his opinions on Kuldeep Yadav and Abhimanyu Easwaran being benched throughout the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

Notably, some former Indian cricketers backed Kuldeep to be used as a frontline spinner against England; however, skipper Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir went ahead with spin all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department.

Similarly, Easwaran was expected to make his test debut during the series; however, he was benched in all games, with Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair getting opportunities. Despite Nair struggling to come up with a big knock in the first three games, he was picked in the fifth test at The Oval.

As a player, you go through a lot of emotions: Shardul Thakur

During an interview with Revsportz, Thakur shared his views on Kuldeep and Easwaran’s position during the entire England tour. The 33-year-old said that he has also faced a similar situation in the past, adding that a player goes through a lot of emotions during such moments.

“On a few occasions, I was also in the same boat, being out and not getting enough games to show my potential. So yes, as a player, you go through a lot of emotions, and it’s not easy to sit out. At some point, you’ll feel bored and start questioning, ‘What am I doing here? I’m not getting a game,” he said.

“But at the end of the day, there are two things, like I said before. First, not everyone is privileged enough to be in the Indian side; everyone will agree on that. And the second thing is, unfortunately or fortunately, the competition is so high in India. There are so many players, and only 11 of them play at the end of the day,” he added.

The seam all-rounder also noted that a player needs to understand that management sometimes drops him due to pitch and weather conditions. Moreover, they should be happy to share the same dressing room with the other teammates during such campaigns.

“So, sitting out, we need to understand that probably this is the best 11 that management is looking at, and you’ll have to repeatedly tell your mind this was not my game. That’s why I was not selected, and probably according to the pitch conditions or weather conditions, this is the best 11 that we could field for the day, and I’m just not part of it”, he said.

“But yes, I am fortunate enough to be touring England or Australia, or also when you’re playing in India, to be in the side, to be sharing the same dressing rooms and meals that the other guys are having,” he added.

Meanwhile, Thakur gave a dismal performance during the test series against England. Playing two matches, he scored 46 runs across three innings and picked only two wickets. He was also dropped from the playing XI for being too expensive with the ball and struggling to score runs.

Thakur is gearing up for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025-26, where he is set to lead the West Zone team. The domestic tournament will commence on August 28 in Bengaluru.

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