‘Unfair to blame’: Sanjay Manjrekar backs India star after poor stint in SA

Following the conclusion of the India vs. South Africa series, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that he thought that one of the primary causes of India’s defeat at Centurion against South Africa was simply bad bowling from India’s bowlers. He also defended Shardul Thakur despite his underwhelming performance in the opening Test, he was only able to claim one wicket in his 19 overs while giving up 101 runs, Thakur was left out of the starting XI for the second Test in Cape Town. In the second Test, Mukesh Kumar, a right-arm seamer, took Thakur’s spot. During the match, Kumar claimed four wickets.

“I understand why they wanted batting depth with Shardul, especially given that they have new players batting at 1,3 & 5 and also Shardul’s record in South Africa. I think it is unfair to blame everything on Shardul Thakur. I feel India generally didn’t bowl well in that Test match and that didn’t allow them a series win,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying on ESPNcricinfo.

“I fear Shardul Thakur will have to wait a while to play his next Test match. They will have to look at his bowling. It is not that he scored 40-50 with the bat either. He might not play a Test match for a while now as India will find other ways of strengthening their batting,” the former right-hand batter added.

Speaking of which, the second Test match ended in favour of India in less than two days. The victory by seven wickets for the visiting team was the quickest in cricket history in terms of balls (642 balls).

The post ‘Unfair to blame’: Sanjay Manjrekar backs India star after poor stint in SA appeared first on Cricket Country.