WI Vs IND, 2nd Test: Rohit Sharma Gives Massive Update On Shardul Thakur After All-Rounder Misses Out
Port of Spain: India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Shardul Thakur has pulled out a niggle and had to miss out the second Test against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Thursday. Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar replaced Thakur in the playing XI.
“Shardul has pulled up a niggle — a groin issue, it brings Mukesh on for a debut,” Rohit said at the coin toss. India have an unassailable lead of 1-0 having won the first Test in Dominica by an innings and 141 runs.
Having been named in the ODI and T20I squads against West Indies and also for the Asian Games, Kumar’s selection in the playing XI was on expected lines. He was also a part of the Indian standby list for the World Test Championship final against Australia last month.
Unlike in past, the Caribbean tour has become a platform for the Indians to test their bench strength and it also acts as a preparatory series considering the fact West Indies are no more a serious threat as before in international cricket.
Mukesh’s debut is a result of hard work at the domestic level. The Bengal pacer has been one of the consistent performers in the Ranji Trophy before grabbing the selectors’ attention for India A against New Zealand A and Bangladesh A last year.
He also fared well for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023. “He has worked hard in the domestic cricket,” said Rohit who also seem to be excited for the 29-year-old talent. For West Indies, captain Kragg Brathwaite made two changes.
Kirk McKenzie makes his debut while the hosts bring in Shannon Gabriel in place of Raymon Reifer and Rakheem Cornwall. Cornwall has bee benced due to a chess infection he suffered in the previous Test match.
Teams:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite(c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Shannon Gabriel.