“It’s not easy to sit out” - Shardul Thakur comes out in support of Kuldeep Yadav & Abhimanyu Easwaran

Indian bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has opened up on the Indian spinner Kuleep Yadav and top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran not getting chances in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.

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It’s important to note that Kuldeep, who last played a Test match against New Zealand in October 2024, has only played 13 Tests so far, scalping 56 wickets at an average of 22.16 and four five-wicket hauls.

On the other hand, Easwaran, who received his maiden call-up during the Bangladesh series in 2022, is yet to get his chance in the final playing XI. Interestingly, more than 10 other players received maiden call-ups and got their debut caps during this duration, but Easwaran is still waiting for his chance.

Notably, Easwaran is one of the domestic batting giants for Bengal, scoring 7674 runs from 101 first-class games at an average of 48.87 with 27 centuries and 29 half-centuries. He also led his state team for a brief period of time.

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"On a few occasions, I was also in the same boat. As a player, you go through a lot of emotions, and it's not easy to sit out, questioning yourself about what you are doing, not getting a game. There are two things. As I mentioned earlier, not everyone is privileged enough to be on the Indian side. The second thing is, unfortunately, the competition is high in India, and only 11 of them get to be a part of the actual playing team,” Thakur told RevSportz in an exclusive interview.

"We need to understand that this is likely the best 11 that management is considering, based on the pitch and weather conditions. You'll have to tell your mind that this was not my game, and it's also a lot to be able to travel with the team and share the dressing room with the rest. I don't have many answers to this one, but one just needs to wait around for that one chance,” he added.

Kuldeep Yadav and Abhimanyu Easwaran will be next seen playing the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 campaign for the Central Zone and East Zone sides respectively.

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