Shardul Thakur Injury Update: The Indian Test vice-captain opened up on the injured fast bowler who had missed the second Test.
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India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has iterated that India won’t be taking England lightly in the third Test match in Headingley starting from August 25 after winning by the second one by 151 runs at Lord’s.
“We are not taking it lightly, whatever happened in the last game was special but we have moved on and we are focused on the next Test. We are taking it one match at a time, win or lose, it is important to stay in the present.
“We are confident about our unit, we have been playing some good cricket and it is about staying in the moment and focusing on the next match,” Rahane addressed the reporters during a press conference on Monday.
Shardul Thakur Injury Update
Rahane, who scored a match-saving half-century in the second innings at Lord’s, revealed that fast bowler Shardul Thakur has regained full fitness ahead of the third Test. It is worth mentioning that India captain Virat Kohli had previously spoken about Thakur recovering well in time for this match.
“Shardul Thakur is fit and available for selection for the third Test. Now, we have to look at which combination we are going with. All the fast bowlers are ready to play and they want to play as the break after the second Test helped,” Rahane added.
Thakur, who played the first Test in Nottingham ahead of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav due to his superior batting skills, had failed to contribute with the bat but picked match figures of 26-4-78-4 which included wickets of Joe Root, Dan Lawrence and Jos Buttler.
Sharma, who had replaced Thakur at Lord’s, picked match figures of 34-7-82-5 including dismissing Moeen Ali and Sam Curran on consecutive deliveries in the first innings. Considering how Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah put together a phenomenal partnership for the ninth-wicket, it will be interesting to see if India prefer Thakur over Sharma for the third Test.
