Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has said that India captain Virat Kohli will be under pressure as the all-rounder Shardul Thakur won’t take part in the second Test against England, which starts on August 12 (Thursday) at Lord’s. Shardul has reportedly sustained a hamstring injury and won’t be available for selection for the Lord’s Test.
While speaking at a media interaction arranged by Sony, Mohammad Kaif said: “I think if Shardul doesn’t play then Kohli will be in trouble because he wants to have fast bowling all-rounders and he doesn’t have many. There is no Hardik Pandya, there is no others who can bowl fast and bat. So then, eventually you might see Ashwin coming in or you see an extra fast bowler. If Ishant is fit, he comes in automatically, otherwise Umesh Yadav can play. But it will be tough for Kohli to have the same balance as what he had in that last game if Shardul doesn’t play.”
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Shardul Thakur didn’t take part in the training with the squad since Team India started doing it in London. Instead he has spent time with Nitin Patel, the physiotherapist and trainer Nick Webb at the gym, as per the report of ESPNCricinfo. With Shardul Thakur’s absence, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will come in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, Ashwin’s absence from the first Test at Trent Bridge has grabbed a lot of eyeballs. While speaking on that matter, former cricketer VVS Laxman said that India should add the off-spinner and that he will add variety to the bowling attack as well.
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VVS Laxman told ESPNCricinfo: “I hope they’ll make the right call by taking Ashwin in the XI. I’ve mentioned this before that he’s a more than capable bowler to perform in any condition. He’s a skilled bowler. He’s someone who has over 400 wickets. Anyone who has that many wickets knows how to adapt to different conditions. Ashwin will add variety and strength to the bowling line-up.”
