India should play Shardul Thakur as the third seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand next month, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said.
Manjrekar feels Thakur will be more useful than the likes of Mohammad Siraj and Ishant Sharma in the first half of English summer as he can swing the ball.
"When India play New Zealand in the first half of the English summer in the World Test Championship final, I would prefer Shardul Thakur - being a swing bowler - to be the third seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.com
"Let me elaborate: when India was in New Zealand, one of the things that India missed was a proper swing bowler. I know Indians didn't bat well but one of the reasons why New Zealand won was because they had proper swing bowlers who could exploit the conditions in New Zealand," he said.
Manjrekar explained the reason behind the conditions in England being helpful. "Now the first half of the English summer, the sun doesn't come out as much. So the condition will be similar to what we had in New Zealand," he added.