Sri Lanka Vs India 2017: Shardul Thakur To Leave South Africa Series Mid-Way

Fast-bowler Shardul Thakur will leave the India A’s tour of South Africa mid-way through the series after being named in India’s squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, starting August 20. Shardul, who is a part of the India A squad for the two unofficial Tests against South Africa A, will fly back to India before joining the senior team in Sri Lanka where they are currently playing the Test series.

Meanwhile, this is Shardul’s second call-up for a limited-overs series. The Mumbai pacer earned the call after his impressive show during the tri-series in South Africa where he finished the series as its highest wicket-taker with 9 scalps to his name as India A thrashed the Proteas to win the series.  Thakur was also included in the Test squad for the West Indies series last year but could not get a single game. However, with the likes of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami rested for the Sri Lanka series, the 25-year old can make his international debut in the upcoming series.

Earlier this year, Shardul was named in the standby list for the ICC Champions Trophy along with Rishabh Pant, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav after his impressive show in the Indian Premier League where he picked up 11 wickets to help Rising Pune Supergiant to make it to the final.

The selectors, meanwhile, have also rewarded other players for their impressive performances on the A tour as  Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey and Axar Patel have also been included in the team. On the other hand, Yuvraj Singh has paid the price for his inconsistent show with the bat. The veteran batsman, who scored only 162 runs in his last 7 ODI innings, has been dropped from the team.