India pacer Shardul Thakur was ruled out of the second Test against England due to a hamstring injury, captain Virat Kohli confirmed the on the eve of the Test. Thakur, who had performed as the fourth seamer in the first Test at Trent Bridge, returned four wickets in the match including that of England captain Joe Root in the first innings. His returns of 2 for 41 and 2 for 37 in the Test had held him in excellent stead for the all-rounder's role in the team, after good returns with the bat earlier this year in Australia, even as India went in with just one expert Ravindra Jadeja. However, Thakur's absence may open up the door for a fast-bowling replacement in Umesh Yadav or Ishant Sharma, or a game for Ravichandran Ashwin, India's leading spinner.
Kohli said India won't be a batsman short even with Thakur not playing. "Good thing is that Jadeja has got runs in the first Test already and he is going into the second game confident that already makes our batting deeper, the lower order contributed with bat a well," Kohli said at the press conference. "Yes, Shardul brings in more batting ability but having said that from the batsmen's point of view, we are well placed because Pujara, Rahane and myself didn't score too many.' he added.
"Every game is an opportunity for other batters to step up as well, Rohit and KL played very well and we are very comfortable with how we are placed as a batting unit, and we don't feel that we will be a batsman short if Shardul doesn't play." Kohli stressed on finding a "perfect balance" in the XI with Thakur not available for selection. "For us, it's about finding that perfect balance but if someone like Shardul is not available, then we definitely need to think how to pick up 20 wickets and not try to plug in another guy, who can give us some runs with the bat," he said.
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