Manish Pandey on Wednesday was brought in to replace an injured Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth Test against England beginning December 8 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
On the other hand, pacer Shardul Thakur has been named as the possible replacement for Mohammad Shami, who has complained of soreness in his knee. Rahane broke his right index finger during the practice session and has now been ruled out of the entire series. The Mumbaikar has not been in form so far in the series, managing just 62 runs in five innings.
On the other hand, Shardul Thakur is an uncapped player and has performed well in the domestic circuit of late.
Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli had stated that he would go into the fourth Test without changing the squad. Defending his move, the 28-year-old skipper had stressed upon the need to back youngsters so that they can be a part of the bigger plan to make India a good Test side for a long time.
#TeamIndia skipper @imVkohli gives an update on Rahul’s and Shami’s fitness ahead of the 4th Test @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/0BPi0Ij6Ql
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 7, 2016
When asked about Shami, Kohli had said that a call on the pacer would be taken in the evening. The announcement to call Thakur means that the Mumbaikar will bag his India cap at Wankhede. India are 2-0 up against England in the five-match series after beating the visitors by eight wickets in Mohali. The fifth and final Test will be played in Chennai from December 16.
India have not won a Test series against England since 2008. In 2011, the team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni was whitewashed 4-0. A year later, Alastair Cook & Co beat the hosts in their own backyard by a 2-1 margin. In 2014, India toured England again with the hopes of avenging loss at home. However, they lost the series 1-3.
