Mumbai: India all-rounder and current captain of Mumbai Shardul Thakur claimed he was “underused” in the five-Test series in England last year. Playing under the new Test captain Shubman Gill and led by the coach Gautam GambhirIndia drew the five-Test series 2-2. Thakur, who took 33 Test wickets in 13 Tests at 31.03, played in just two Tests in the series, in which he took two wickets at 72.00, at an economy rate of 5.33. Across the two Tests, Thakur bowled 27 overs while conceding 144 runs. Thakur bowled just six overs in the first innings of the first Test at Leeds, in which he conceded 38 runs without taking a wicket, as India bowled 100.4 overs. In the second innings, he took two for 51 in 10 overs, as India bowled 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 conceded 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 among all regular Indian bowlers. “After the 2024-25 season, the kind of season I had (took 35 wickets in nine matches at 22.62), I think I could have played a few more matches and it literally made a difference. When I played in England, I was not used well in bowling. But in Manchester, I batted well (I scored 41 in the first innings, I would say it was cloudy, the ball was swinging, and there was a length where it bounced strangely). I survived that spell. And India also made a very strong total (358) in the first innings. And then the pitch became flat and then we were also able to save the game. But if he hadn’t had that innings when the second new ball came, then probably the result could 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 MCA’s BKC facility on Wednesday. Ruining the fact that he was ‘underbowled’ in the England series due to some ‘miscalculation’, the 34-year-old Shardul said: ‘I would say I was underbowled and it was about being bowled at wrong phases. So there was some miscalculation I would say.” Did the “Palghar Express” have a word with the captain to clarify the situation regarding him? “No, I mean, usually you don’t have a word with 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 provide for the team. And while you do this, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t happen,” answered Thakur. Ruining the fact that he was removed from the attack even after taking the wickets Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in the 55th over of the Leeds Test, as England successfully chased down 373 while losing just five wickets, Thakur said: “So if you see that in Leeds, I got those two wickets back-to-back and India were back in the game, but then I was stopped again. So that’s where I could have bowled another longer spell, and I could have had the other spell and I could have got into a another spell won that game too. So again, ifs and buts.“ “My comments are not going to change the scenario of that game and the outcome of that game. But yeah, I mean, you don’t end up having that kind of conversation usually with the captain and everything. You basically take whatever you’re asked to do,” Thakur said. During one of his press conferences in England during the Test series last year, Thakur had hinted that he was unhappy at being bowled much less than he wanted. However, despite his bitter experience while playing for the country last time, Thakur is hopeful that he will get a chance to play for India again in the future. “So, it’s not that I didn’t make any contribution when I played for India last time. But yes, I think I deserve a few more opportunities. But that’s okay. Like I said, hope is still alive. And in the near future, if they ask me to play for India again, I would be ready,” he said.