Shardul Thakur
Only two nights earlier Indian skipper Virat Kohli had confidently said that the team would carry the "template" from the first Test throughout the series. But on the eve of the second Test at the iconic Lord's the management have incurred a selection headache as Shardul Thakur has suffered a hamstring injury.
Thakur, who was picked as India's fourth seamer in the opening Test at Trent Bridge, picked four wickets in the game that ended in a stalemate. Kohli confirmed the news during the pre-match presser on Wednesday, saying that he will be fit for the third Test.
"From what we were told, he should be okay for the third Test. I think it is a myofascial strain on his left hamstring," said Kohli to the media.
Captain Kohli might have to seriously consider playing his best spinner Ravichandran Ashwin while expecting a far better show from the seasoned batting line-up when India meet England in the second Test at the Lord's starting Thursday.
While India were in a better position to win the first Test before heavens opened up on the final day, the first innings score of 278 was still below par as none among Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (horrible mix-up) scored runs.
Not to forget that all three haven't scored heavily in the past two years and save Rahane, who got a hundred in Melbourne, the other two batting mainstays haven't been able to convert a lot of their half-centuries into three-figure mark.
As far as team combination is concerned, Shardul's hamstring injury does again tilt the lower-order batting balance although the Mumbai seamer didn't trouble the scorers in the only innings that he played.
Ashwin, who was dropped from the playing XI in the drawn opening game in Nottingham because of Ravindra Jadeja's superior skills with the willow, is back in the mix as Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at the Lord's on Monday.
It's still not clear whether he picked up the injury during the first Test or not.
With Thakur being all but ruled out of the upcoming match, Kohli might have to revisit his 4-1 bowling combination which can't be cast in stone considering the lean nature of his team's lower-order batting.
For Kohli, if four pacers are non-negotiable, then one among Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav will be straightaway replacing Thakur but the choice might not be that easy.
"Most likely it will be a template going ahead [4-1 combination], but we've always been adaptable as well, to the conditions and pace of the wicket," Kohli had said after the first Test.
But adaptability is the rider that Indian skipper used during that post-match conference and hence Ashwin, who is currently on the verge of surpassing Harbhajan Singh's (417 wickets) tally, comes into the picture.
If the skipper believes that his batting needs to be suitably beefed up, then Ashwin is the right choice in case weather permitting, there is something available on the fourth or fifth day Lord's pitch.
