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India's Shardul Thakur injured, likely to miss Lord's Test against England: Report
India received another injury setback with fast bowler Shardul Thakur all but out of the second Test against England at Lord's due to a hamstring injury.
India received another injury setback with fast bowler Shardul Thakur all but out of the second Test against England at Lord's. ESPNCricinfo reports that Thakur has sustained a hamstring injury and is likely to miss the second Test of the series, starting Thursday. Thakur's injury adds to India's growing list of injuries which has already seen Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan ruled out.
Thakur picked up four wickets in the first Test in Nottingham – 2/41 and 2/37. However, in the second innings, he bowled only 13 overs, the fewest among all four pacers. However, Thakur did spend time at the Lord's gym on Monday in the supervision of physiotherapist Nitin Patel and trainer Nick Webb, the website further reported.
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Thakur's injury is expected to pave way for a bowling change for India. Although Virat Kohli stated at the end of the first Test that the four pacers-one spinner combination is going to be India's template for the remainder of the same, the option of playing R Ashwin as the second spinner sure sounds tempting. The off-spinner missing the first Test was surprising for many, as he was just coming off a five-wicket-haul in a County Championship match for Surrey against Somerset.
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Having said that, India could also make a like-for-like replacement, picking either Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav as the fourth seamer and stick to their original combination. The weather for the Lord's Test is expected to be a lot better with almost no chances of rain throughout five days and the sun out in all its glory.
If India are to persist with four pacers, Ishant getting picked is a no-brainer. The India pacer sustained an injury during the WTC final, requiring multiple stitches on his right/bowling arm, but Ishant seems to have recovered well as he took an active part in India's training session on Monday, bowling at length, and even invested time on batting receiving throwdowns.
