Shardul Thakur all but confirms Nitish Kumar Reddy's axing with explosive century in intra-squad game
Published - 16 Jun 2025, 10:36 AM | Updated - 16 Jun 2025, 02:08 PM
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Shardul Thakur has strengthened his case for a place in the India playing eleven for the first Test of the upcoming five-match series against England.
The Mumbai allrounder smashed a stunning century in the intra-squad match to send a timely message to the team management.
Thakur hits a ton
Shardul Thakur scored an unbeaten 122 runs off just 68 balls to show his worth once again. He became the second India A player after Sarfaraz Khan (101) to score a century against the senior Indian team at Beckenham.
The 33-year-old's century came against an attack boasting the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and BCCI's Centre of Excellence head VVS Laxman were in attendance when Shardul Thakur took his India teammates to the cleaners.
India's intra-squad game has ended
Meanwhile, the four-day intra-squad match was called off by the management on Sunday (June 15) midway through day 3. The game was supposed to finish on Monday (June 16), but the team management decided to bring an end to all the action after just two and a half days.
"Team India's intra-squad game has ended. A complete day off on 16th June. The team will leave for Leeds on 17th June," stated the BCCI.
Shardul Thakur eyes Test comeback:
Shardul Thakur is a part of the India Test squad for the series against England. The allrounder has not played a Test since December 2023 and will be hoping to get a chance against England. He is competing with Nitish Kumar Reddy for the allrounder's spot in the India playing eleven.
The selectors and the team management had backed Reddy for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last season. Reddy impressed with the bat in Australia, but his performance with the ball left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur has a knack of picking important wickets and is also more than capable of playing crucial knocks down the order.
He has played 11 Tests so far and has taken 31 wickets in addition to scoring 331 runs, including four fifties. Thakur also has an impressive record in England. In 2021, he played two Tests in England. In the Nottingham Test, he picked up 4 wickets before scoring two fifties and taking 3 wickets in the Oval Test.
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