 "Thakur boosts chances of selection for England Tests with unbeaten ton; India-India A game called off on Day 3")
Shardul Thakur made a strong case for selection in the upcoming Test series against England by smashing a defiant century on the final day of the intra-squad game between India and India A in Beckenham. Thakur, who last represented India in the first Test against South Africa in December 2023, remained unbeaten 122 on Sunday while playing for India A.
What made his knock even more impressive was the fact that he scored those runs against an attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh – all of whom are India’s first-choice pacers for the series that gets underway on Friday in Headingley, Leeds.
Thakur had also impressed with the ball earlier in the game and was among the wickets, troubling newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill as well as KL Rahul and Karun Nair – who has earned a Test recall in the tour of England after eight years in the wilderness.
Intra-squad match called off halfway into the third day
The Indian team management decided to call off the intra-squad game, which was supposed to end on Monday, 16 June, halfway into the third day, with nearly eight sessions being played during the course of the warm-up game.
Thakur’s heroics in Beckenham have ensured captain Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have a real headache when it comes to choosing between the Mumbaikar and fellow seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Thakur was not part of India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia – their last Test assignment – while Reddy played all five matches, scoring a memorable century in Melbourne.
However, the fact that Thakur’s “golden arm” comes in handy for the team when it comes to getting breakthroughs as well as the fact that Reddy has hardly made an impact as a bowler might result in the former’s name getting included in the team sheet.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe match also witnessed middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan – who has not been included in the squad for the England Tests – smash a 76-ball 101 for India A . Additionally, Gill and Rahul scored half-centuries to help India post 469 on the board.
Bumrah, meanwhile, had gone wicketless while Siraj and Krishna collected a couple of wickets each, with Reddy bagging one.
Team India will leave for Leeds on Tuesday, 17 June – a day after the warm-up game was scheduled to conclude and three days before the series opener against Ben Stokes’ men gets underway.
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