ENG vs IND, 3rd Test: Pacer Shardul Thakur Fit To Play At Headingley

Cricket Image for ENG vs IND, 3rd Test: Pacer Shardul Thakur Fit To Play At Headingley (Image Source: Google)

India pace bowler Shardul Thakur is fit to be considered for the third Test that commences here at Headingley from Wednesday although he is not yet guaranteed a place in the playing XI.

"Shardul is fit and fine. He is ready for selection. We just have to see what combination we are going with," said India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to media in a virtual interaction.

The India middle-order batsman ruled out rotation policy saying all the bowlers have got a good break after the second Test which ended on August 16. "About rotation policy, we got very good break after the last Test match. So all the fast bowlers, they are ready to play. They want to play, which is a very good sign," added Rahane.

Thakur, who played the first Test at Trent Bridge at the start of the month, suffered a hamstring injury and had to be ruled out. However, his absence wasn't felt as Ishant Sharma stepped in and performed admirably. The 33-year-old Rahane said that the players, including the bowlers are much more experienced than they were in 2014 and 2018.

"I think when you play in UK, your lines and lengths are very important. In 2014, when we had come here, we were a young unit. We are now all experienced, [we have] bowlers who have played all over the world and they know how to bowl in certain situations. So this time around we were focussing on keeping it simple as a bowling unit and bowling in right areas."