Shardul Thakur ruled out of second Test against England at Lord's
Active Times For Printing Download Epaper from files section from bottom of this page
India were dealt a heavy blow on the eve of the second Test against England as medium pacer Shardul Thakur was ruled out of the Lord's Test with a hamstring injury, confirmed captain ViratKohli in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.Shardul, who picked up four wickets in the first Test at Nottingham including the one of England captain Joe Root in the first innings, has been ruled out with an injury to his left hamstring.
The Mumbai cricketer, is however, likely to be available for the third Test at Leeds, starting on August 25.
Shardul who bowled 26 overs - the least of India's four seamers in the first Test - did not seem to be any discomfort but the 29-yeard-old reportedly complained about a hamstring injury on Monday.
It will be interesting to see who Shardul Thakur is replaced with. Kohli has made no attempts to hide his likings for playing four seamers in English conditions but with Shardul - the only seamer who can be trusted to contribute with the bat - ruled out, India might have to rethink that strategy and bring Ashwin back in the XI."The good thing is that Jadeja has got runs in the first game already, so he will go into the second game confident. That already makes our batting a bit deeper, the lower-order contributed with the bat as well. Shardul brings in more batting ability but having said that, from the batsmen's point of view, we are well placed. Pujara, Rahane and I did not score too many, every game is an opportunity for other batsmen to step up as well," said Kohli.
"Rohit and KL played really well, we are comfortable with how we are placed. We do not feel that we are batsmen short if Shardul does not play. For us, it is about finding that right balance, if Shardul is not available, we will try to take 20 wickets first and we feel comfortable with how the first Test went," he added.
