Pacer Shardul Thakur, who was not picked for the recent New Zealand T20I and Test series at home, has been asked to travel to South Africa to join the India A side which will play three four-day matches starting November 23rd, with all three matches to be played in Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
Thakur had been part of the Indian team since the tour of Australia last year and hence was rested from the home New Zealand series, after being away from home for six months at a stretch playing cricket.
Thakur, however, will play only the third India A vs South Africa A game in Bloemfontein. Indian Express reported that new head coach Rahul Dravid wants every player to be match-ready with some games under their belt before they enter an international game.
If picked for the South Africa series next month, Thakur wouldn’t have had any games behind him, if not for the A match.
This was the same reason given for sending Hanuma Vihari to South Africa with India A team as he has played no competitive cricket since the SCG Test which he helped draw despite suffering a hamstring tear.
The selection committee felt he might not have got any Tests against the Kiwis. They thought it would be better if he got a few games in India A series.
The former bowling coach Bharat Arun had raved about the importance of Thakur and said: “Shardul Thakur is coming along superbly. Just imagine the pressure and how well he has coped and grabbed them. Each match, I see tremendous improvement – bowling and batting. Knocks in Brisbane and Leeds were amazing, no? And he is a pretty intelligent bowler – a lovely out swinger at close to 140 kmphs and a well-directed bouncer. He is a good thinker, not afraid to speak his mind, fearless and you need players like him in a team environment.”
The BCCI is likely to pick the squad for the South Africa tour after the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur starting on Thursday.
(Indian Express inputs)
