Shardul Thakur not the same bowler we saw 18 months ago: Sanjay Manjrekar

Following India's seven-wicket loss at the hands of England at Edgbaston, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has pointed out at the ineffectiveness of Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj, who leaked runs at a canter in the game.

Chasing a record 378, England got there thanks to unbeaten tons from the in-form Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root.  "I think Shardul Thakur is not the same bowler we saw in Test cricket, maybe 18 months back," said Manjrekar said after the match on Monday (July 5). 

Speaking about Siraj, Manjrekar observed, "I have been watching Mohammed Siraj's evolution as a bowler. The seam-up delivery has just gone."

With England's win, the five-match series, that got underway last year has ended 2-2. India missed some key players like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the fifth Test in Birmingham. In their absence, it was Jasprit Bumrah who led India for the first time.

As far as England are concerned, they have now successfully chased down targets in four consecutive Tests, all of which were over 270.

The two teams now clash in a limited-overs series starting with T20 Internationals (T20I) on Wednesday (July 7) in Southampton.