“India needs a bowler who can bat a bit” - Harbhajan Singh picks his all-rounder for first Test vs England

Former Indian spinner and commentator Harbhajan Singh has backed all-rounder Shardul Thakur to get a nod ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Indian playing XI for the first Test of the five-match series against England, scheduled to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

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While Thakur made it to the Indian Test squad for the first time since December 2023 after his impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy and IPL 2025, Nitish Kumar Reddy had an exceptional Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, scoring 298 runs from five Tests, including a century.

Speaking to PTI, the former Indian off-spinner stated that Team India needs a bowler who can bat a bit in the playing XI. While Nitish is a proper batter, Shardul can pitch in with both batting and bowling perfectly well, according to Bhajji.

“India needs a bowler who can bat a bit. The batting line-up extends till No. 7, and at No. 8, you need someone who can take wickets and contribute with the bat—not just a batsman who bowls a little,” Harbhajan said.

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“That’s where I think Shardul has an edge over Nitish Reddy. Nitish is a proper batsman who can definitely bowl, but we haven’t seen much of his bowling in the IPL. Gautam (Gambhir) is there. He’s a very capable coach, and I’m confident he’ll make the right decision,” he added.

Interestingly, Nitish could bowl only five overs across 13 games for the Sunrisers Hyderabad during the IPL 2025 season. On the other hand, Shardul had an exceptional intra-squad match between India and India A, scoring a century on Day 3.

Furthermore, the former Indian cricketer also supported playing both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in the first Test’s playing XI, adding that the two-spinner strategy could be a bit effective in English conditions.

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India’s squad for England Test series:

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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