Shardul Thakur is fit and available for selection: Ajinkya Rahane ahead of 3rd Test 

Shardul Thakur had to miss the second Test at Lord's due to a niggle. Ishant Sharma replaced him in the side and India went on to secure an emphatic victory on the final day of the Test.

There were concerns about the balance of Team India's playing XI in the Lord's Test as the team had a very long tail. However, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah's heroics with the bat on the fifth day silenced all the naysayers.

Ahead of the third Test, Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has declared that bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur is fit and available for selection. India will now have a dilemma about whether to stick with the same combination from the Lord's Test or bring back Shardul Thakur to strengthen their lower order.

When asked about the team management's stance during the pre-match media conference, Ajinkya Rahane said:

"Shardul is fit and fine. He is ready for the selection. We just have to see what combination we are going in with about the rotation policy. We got a very good break after the last Test match so all the fast bowlers are ready to play... they want to play, which is a very good sign for us."

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Shardul Thakur might have to miss out since Ishant bowled well in the second Test: Ajith Agarkar

During a recent media interaction organised by Sony, Ajith Agarkar opined that Shardul Thakur might not come back into the side for the 3rd Test as Ishant Sharma performed well at Lord's.

Agarkar fee that India might not make any drastic changes to their team for the upcoming Headingley Test.

"Ashwin might be the only change, but I can't imagine why you would change a team after having won a Test match unless you have real problems. As good as Shardul bowled in the first test, he might have to miss out since Ishant bowled well in the second Test," said Ajith Agarkar