Indian medium-pacer Shardul Thakur looked brilliant in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Shardul Thakur was picked ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin in the first Test match which left everybody surprised. Although Shardul Thakur did a very great job by delivering an awesome performance of Team India with the ball.
In the first innings at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Shardul bagged 2 crucial wickets for 42 runs. Meanwhile, in the second innings, he once again performed well and picked 2 wickets for 37 runs.
Meanwhile, the star bowling all-rounder might not provide services to India in the 2nd Test at Lord’s. According to reports Thakur is struggling with a hamstring problem. So if he is not fully fit Indian management had to look out for other options available in the squad.
In this article, we have a look at three players who can replace Shardul Thakur in the 2nd Test against England at Lord’s
#3 Ishant Sharma
The workhorse Ishant is India’s first-choice Test pacer at any venue in the world. Also, Ishant Sharma is the most experienced pacer India currently has in the Test team. He has already represented India in over 100 Test games which in itself is a huge milestone, especially for a pacer bowler. As it is not very easy to deliver good performances consecutively for the team in the purest form of the game and stay fit.
Ishant’s inclusion in the team will provide the experience in the Indian bowling unit. As the trio of Bumrah, Shami and Ishant is named among the best pace battery in the world currently. Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma is currently India’s leading wicket-taker in England. Alongside legendary Indian world, cup-winning captain Kapil Dev. The right-arm pacer has played 12 games on English soil and has already bagged 43 wickets under his name. Ishant will be a great choice for India to replace Shardul Thakur in the Lord’s Test.
#2 Hanuma Vihari
WTC 🔙🔜 pic.twitter.com/4dv0ltCUgk
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) August 3, 2021
Hanuma Vihari is a Test specialist player of India just like Ishant Sharma. For a decent amount of time, he was the regular member of Team India in the longest format of the game. Also, Vihari has got same technique as Pujara to survive in Test cricket and deliver good performances for India in any given condition. Meanwhile other than his batting ability, Vihari can contribute for India with his spin deliveries. Notably, Hanuma Vihari is a handy off-spinner too.
Hanuma Vihari has represented India in 12 Tests and has scored 624 runs. Also, he has 5 wickets under his belt. Vihari played his last Test against Australia at Sydney and played a heroic knock to save India from defeat. He stood like a wall in the crease against the fierce bowling attack of Australia. Meanwhile, in that match, Hanuma scored 23 runs off 161 balls to save India from losing the game. Vihari can be a good replacement for Shardul considering his all-round abilities.
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin
Arguably the greatest Test spinner in the world at the moment. Ashwin is a regular member of India in the Test squad. However, he was not included in the first Test against England which was a very surprising thing for fans considering his performance in recent months. Many fans and cricket experts criticized India for not including Ashwin in Playing XI of first Test against England at Nottingham. On the other hand, many believe that was a good decision considering there was not support for spinner from the surface.
Ravichandran Ashwin has performed exceptionally for India even with no support from the pitch. Also in the recent WTC final, Ashwin bagged 2 wickets each in two innings despite the pitch only providing help to the pacers. Other than his deadly off-spin Ashwin possesses the amazing ability to bat in the lower middle order. He has already scored 5 Test centuries. So expect Ravichandran Ashwin to replace Shardul Thakur in the Test at Lord’s as he is the best replacement India can make.
