All-rounder Shardul Thakur won’t be featuring in Mumbai’s second match in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram starting January 19. This absence is attributed to an ankle injury he reportedly picked up during India’s tour of South Africa.
While Shardul had a decent performance with the bat in the first Test in Centurion, he struggled to make an impact with the ball, conceding a significant number of runs. Mukesh Kumar took his place in the second Test, although no specific injury details were provided by India at that time.
In addition to Thakur, the team decided to exclude middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer. Iyer is set to depart to prepare for India’s upcoming five-match Test series against England.
On a positive note, Shivam Dube has been included in the team and is expected to join the squad after the conclusion of the ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
“He has informed the MCA that he will take two more weeks to recover,” Ajinkya Naik, the Mumbai Cricket Association secretary . “We are also waiting for an official communication from the NCA (National Cricket Academy).”
Mumbai’s squad: Ajinkya Rahane (Capt.), Jay Bista, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Shivam Dube, Suved Parkar, Prasad Pawar (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Mohit Avasthi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Royston Dias, Sylvester Dsouza, Himanshu Singh.
Sanjay Manjrekar on Shardul Thakur.
former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar expressed the view that despite the collective failure of the Indian team, Shardul Thakur might be the one facing consequences, potentially leading to a hiatus from Test cricket for a while.
“I understand why they wanted batting depth with Shardul, especially given that they have new players batting at 1,3 & 5 and also Shardul’s record in South Africa. I think it is unfair to blame everything on Shardul Thakur. I feel India generally didn’t bowl well in that Test match and that didn’t allow them a series win,” he said on ESPN.
“I fear Shardul Thakur will have to wait a while to play his next Test match. They will have to look at his bowling. It is not that he scored 40-50 with the bat either. He might not play a Test match for a while now as India will find other ways of strengthening their batting,” Manjrekar added.
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