IND vs RSA, 2nd Test: The second test match between India and South Africa is set to begin on January 3rd in Cape Town. The Men in Blue are 1-0 behind in the 2-match test series after losing the first test match and will be looking to bounce back with a win in the second test match and level the test series.
There’s some good news for the Men in Blue, as there were concerns regarding the fitness of Fast-Bowling All-Rounder Shardul Thakur, who took a blow to his left shoulder during a training session on the 30th of December. Shardul Thakur is fully fit, according to a Cricbuzz report, and he batted comfortably despite suffering a knock to his left shoulder.
The CSK all-rounder is a vital player for the Men in Blue because he is the team’s lone specialist fast-bowling all-rounder, and his perfect fitness is good news for the Indian team. A source within the Indian team said, “There’s no concern regarding Shardul’s fitness at all. No problems.”
The 32-year-old didn’t have a good outing in the Boxing Day test at Centurion against South Africa, as he managed to pick up just 1 wicket and concede 101 runs in 19 overs. Shardul scored 24 crucial runs with the bat in the 1st inning but got just 2 runs in the 2nd inning.
As Shardul is completely fit, he is all set to play in the second test against the Proteas. Star All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has recovered as well and is likely to get the nod ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin as the spin bowling all-rounder for the 2nd test. The major concern for the Indian team is the role of the third seamer. Prasidh Krishna failed to perform as per expectations in the first test match and is likely to be replaced by Mukesh Kumar for the second and final test matches between India and South Africa. Avesh Khan has been added to the Indian squad for the 2nd test, so he might make his test debut against the Proteas in the 2nd test match.
India’s squad for the 2nd Test match against South Africa
Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah,Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Srikar Bharat, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, and Abhimanyu Easwaran
Read: South Africa announce test squad against New Zealand
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