"The collapse won't happen" - Irfan Pathan on potential replacement for Shardul Thakur in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Irfan Pathan has opined that Washington Sundar should replace Shardul Thakur in the Indian team's playing XI for the second Test against England. He reasoned that the spin-bowling all-rounder can help in avoiding late-order batting collapses, which Thakur was unable to do in the first game.

England beat India by five wickets in the first Test in Leeds. The second game of the five-match series is scheduled to start in Birmingham on Wednesday, July 2.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' the former India all-rounder urged Shubman Gill and company to play Sundar ahead of Kuldeep Yadav as Thakur's replacement in the second Test.

"It was definitely disappointing the way Shardul Thakur bowled. It was his first game. He was making a comeback after a long time. It's not easy, and he wasn't used as much as he should have been with the ball. He could have been introduced a little earlier. You don't see that much zip in his bowling with a very old ball," Pathan said (6:40).

"There were many factors, but the most disappointing thing I found was that he cannot let the collapse happen if he is batting at No. 8. Since Shardul didn't look that comfortable while batting, the Indian team have the option of Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Your batting will get lengthened if you play Washington Sundar at No. 8. The collapse won't happen," he added.

Pathan highlighted that Sundar is a better batter than Thakur, and that India would need to bolster their batting as England will likely bowl better as the series progresses.

"You will expect at least 15 to 20 runs from him. He should give more as he is a better batsman than Shardul. So, in my opinion, you should play Washington Sundar at No. 8. The Indian team can control the collapses to a large extent. England's bowling will keep getting better. So you will have to lengthen your batting," he observed.

Washington Sundar has scored 468 runs at an average of 42.54 in nine Tests. He has also picked up 25 wickets at an average of 25.64 in 16 innings.

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"He had performed in Australia" - Irfan Pathan urges India to play Nitish Kumar Reddy in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a century in the Boxing Day Test against Australia. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Irfan Pathan opined that Nitish Kumar Reddy needs to be a part of India's playing XI in the second Test against England.

"When the Test series was about to start, I had said that you should play Nitish Kumar Reddy. Firstly, he had performed in Australia. You shouldn't forget that. He had scored a century and batted well with the tail. He bowls medium fast. He might give you eight to 10 overs, but, going forward, if he plays regularly and gives you 15 overs, you will get a batter who can play as a fourth fast bowler overseas," he reasoned (8:40).

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that Sai Sudharsan can make way for the all-rounder, with Karun Nair being promoted to No. 3.

"I feel you should persist with him for a long time. In my opinion, he needs to play. He will come in place of a batter, either in place of Sai Sudharsan or Karun Nair. It will be a close call between Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan. Play Karun Nair at No. 3," Pathan observed.

Both Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair failed to open their accounts in the first innings of the Leeds Test. While the Tamil Nadu batter scored 30 runs in the second innings, the Vidarbha player managed 20 runs.