Report: T Natarajan, Washington Sundar And Shardul Thakur To Stay Back In Australia For The Test Series

The Indian cricket team is currently gearing up for the upcoming marquee four-match Test series against Australia and if the reports are to be believed, they have held back white-ball specialists Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, and T Natarajan as net bowlers.

The conclusion of the limited-overs leg of the Australian tour saw the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya return back home but as per a report published in the ‘Mumbai Mirror’, the likes of T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur will continue to stay Down Under as cover.

While as per report, T Natarajan was supposed to stay back for the entire tour, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar being held back is a recent development.

T Natarajan had a breakout Australian summer as he emerged as the new leader of the Indian white-ball attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The left-hand fast bowler claimed six wickets in the three-match T20I series and was the leading wicket-taker among pacers across both teams.

Shardul Thakur, on the other hand, played a crucial role in India winning the third ODI, post which he was drafted in the T20I squad after Ravindra Jadeja got ruled out due to hamstring injury.

Washington Sundar, meanwhile, was as usual miserly in giving runs during the T20I series.

The first Test between Australia and India will be a pink ball day-night affair and it will kickstart at the Adelaide Oval from December 17.