Mumbai: India all-rounder and current captain of Mumbai Shardul Thakur alleged that he was “underutilized” in the five-Test series in England last year. Playing under a new Test captain Shubman Gill and guided by the head coach Gautam GambhirIndia drew the five-Test series 2-2. Thakur, who took 33 Test wickets in 13 Tests at 31.03, played only two Tests in the series, where he took two wickets at 72.00, at an economy rate of 5.33. Between the two Tests, Thakur bowled 27 overs while scoring 144 runs. Thakur bowled just six overs in the first innings of the first Test at Leeds, where he conceded 38 runs without a wicket, as India won by 100.4 overs. In the second innings, he took two for 51 in 10 overs, while India won by 82 overs. India lost that Test by five wickets, as England made 465 and 373 for five. Recalled for the fourth Test in Manchester, Thakur took 0-55 in 11 overs as England piled up 669 in the first innings. The match ended in a draw. Interestingly, on all three occasions, Thakur bowled the fewest overs of all India’s regular bowlers. “After the 2024-25 season, the kind of season I had (he took 35 wickets in nine games at 22.62), I think I could have played a few more games and literally made a difference. When I played in England, I wasn’t used properly in bowling. In batting, yes, I made a mistake that I played one (he didn’t have a shot in Leeds1). It was great (he scored 41 in the first innings). So I survived that spell. And India still put up a very strong total (358) in the first innings. And then the pitch became flat and then we also managed to save the game. But if I hadn’t had that innings when the second new ball came, the result might have been different too,” Thakur told a select group of reporters on the sidelines of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ‘2026-27 season launch’ at the BKC facility at MCA on Wednesday. Destroying the fact that he was “underbowled” in the England series due to some “calculation error”, the 34-year-old Shardul said, “I would say I was being underbowled and it’s about being bowled in the wrong phases. So there is some miscalculation I would say.” ‘Palghar Express’ has a word with the captain to explain the situation about him? “No, I mean, usually you don’t have anything to say to the captain or the coach because all the focus is on the game. Whenever you are asked to do something, all you think is, okay, now is my chance and I want to deliver for the team. And while doing that, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t happen,” answered Thakur. Destroy the fact that he was removed from the attack even after taking wickets Ben Duckett and: Harry Brooke in the 55th over of the Leeds Test, as England chased down 373 successfully while losing just five wickets, Thakur said, “So, if you see that in Leeds, I got two back-to-back wickets and India got back into the game, but I was stopped again. So again, ifs and buts.“ “My comments are not going to change the scenario of that game and the outcome of that game. But yes, I mean, you don’t end up having these kinds of conversations that are common with the captain and all. Basically you take whatever you are asked to do,” Thakur said. During one of his press conferences in England during the Test series last year, Thakur expressed his displeasure about losing less than he would have liked. However, despite his bitter experience while playing for the country for the last time, Thakur is optimistic that he will get a chance to play for India again in the future. “So, it’s not that I haven’t made any contributions when I played for India last time. But yes, I think I deserve a few more opportunities. But it’s okay. Like I said, hope is still alive. And in the near future, if they ever ask me to play for India again, I should be ready,” he said.