"James Anderson abused Mohammed Siraj in the first Test, and did the same to Bumrah in the Lord’s Test" - Shardul Thakur opens up about the tensions during the England series

Indian bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur recently disclosed interesting details surrounding the showdown between Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson during the Test series in England.

Thakur revealed that Anderson abused Mohammed Siraj during the first Test at Trent Bridge and later did the same to Bumrah after receiving a few bouncers while batting during the Lord's Test.

Anderson's exchanges with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah proved detrimental for England, however, as the pace duo produced fiery match-winning spells at Lord's and the Oval.

In an interview with the Times of India, Shardul Thakur opened up about the incidents which charged up the Indian team and said:

"There were no tensions with the England team. It (The issue) was only with James Anderson. He abused Mohammed Siraj in the first Test, and likewise, he did the same to (Jasprit) Bumrah in the Lord’s Test, when he (Bumrah) bowled the ‘body line’ to him."

Thakur then opened up about the experience of Indian tailenders when they batted in overseas conditions. He said:

"Have you seen how fast bowlers bowl to our tail-enders when we go overseas? Mohammed Shami’s arm got fractured in Adelaide. T Natarajan was bombarded with fast ‘body line’ balls at 90-plus miles an hour. We are not here to make friendships and spare anyone. We are here to win."

Verbal exchanges are part and parcel of the sport. In the end, cricket fans did get to witness some high-quality action in the India-England Test series.

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"My intention was to take wickets, and not even once did I think of bowling defensively" - Shardul Thakur reveals his plans on the fifth day of Oval Test

Shardul Thakur also shared his thought process while bowling in the second innings of the Oval Test, when England were coasting along at one stage.

Thakur explained that he stuck to his plans and bowled an attacking line to give India their first breakthrough on Day Five. The pacer removed the well-set Rory Burns with a ball that straightened and squared up the left-hander.

Speaking about his plans, Thakur said:

"My job was simple— I had to support the other three pacers. But at some stage (of my career) in other forms of cricket and in domestic games, I too had played as the main seamer of my team. So my natural instinct is to take wickets. Even when England were cruising in the second innings with no wickets on board, my intention was to take wickets and not even once did I think of bowling defensively."

"Rory’s [wicket] was a reward of a good ball which pitched on the right spot and moved away. I was really pleased with the wickets of Pope and Root. I was just trying to bowl that teasing line and length outside the off-stump."

Shardul Thakur is currently in Dubai after joining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp ahead of the second phase of IPL 2021. He will be hoping to carry his good form into the IPL and help CSK clinch the title this year.