India have suffered a selection headache on the eve of the second Test against England with an injury likely to rule out Shardul Thakur. It is suspected that Thakur has a hamstring injury, and ESPNcricinfo understands the team management has decided to replace him for the Lord's Test, which begins on Thursday.
Thakur arrived for training on Monday at Lord's and spent time in the gym alongside the India physiotherapist Nitin Patel and trainer Nick Webb. Thakur, who was India's fourth seamer during the first Test in Nottingham, picked up four wickets - two in each innings. Doubts surfaced about Thakur's fitness when he only sent down 13 overs in England's second innings - the fewest of India's quicks - although he did not show any evident unease on the outside.
The key question now for India is who replaces Thakur. With conditions in London forecast to be warm and dry - with temperatures in the early 20s for the entire duration of the Test - India have the choice of either picking a second spinning allrounder in R Ashwin or a fourth seamer in Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav, considering reverse-swing could be in play along with the seam movement and conventional swing that are usually on offer in English conditions.
At the end of the Trent Bridge Test, which ended in a rain-affected draw, India captain Virat Kohli said he was happy with the template India had picked, with four fast bowlers and one spin-bowling allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja.
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