India, June 26 -- Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has come in support of under-fire Shardul Thakur after he faced intense criticism following India's loss at Headingley, Leeds. Shardul, who was picked in the XI as the fast-bowling all-rounder, failed to impress in any department. He scored 1 and 4 with the bat as the Indian tail didn't put up any fight in both innings.

Meanwhile, newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill appeared hesitant to rely on Shardul's bowling, handing him just six overs in the first innings, where he proved expensive with an economy rate over 6. Though Shardul picked up two important wickets in the second innings to momentarily shift the momentum in India's favour, he-along with the rest of the attack-was unable t...