Mumbai: Demonstrating his value for selection in the first Test against England, Shardul Thakur produced an impressive unbeaten 122 from 68 deliveries while representing India A against India in the intra-squad fixture at Beckenham on Sunday.The third day saw Thakur become the second player to reach three figures in India A’s innings, following Sarfaraz Khan’s 101 from 76 balls (featuring 15 boundaries and two sixes) before his retired dismissal on day two. Thakur achieved his century facing India’s Test bowling unit of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The intra-squad match between India and India A was called off by the management midway through Day Three. The game was supposed to last until Monday, June 16. However, the management called the match off after two and a half days.
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Should Shardul Thakur be included in the playing XI for the Headingley Test?
“Team India’s intra-squad game has ended. A complete day off on 16th June. The team will leave for Leeds on 17th June,” the BCCI stated on Sunday. The practice match wasn’t telecast live, nor were the scores made available to the media officially. A source tracking developments told TOI, “It was the team’s discretion whether to play a three or four-day match. The scores can’t be completely relied upon, because a few players batted twice (Washington Sundar for India A, for example).”Earlier, India had posted 469 on the board.Notably, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and BCCI’s Centre of Excellence head VVS Laxman observed Sarfaraz and Shardul’s centuries at Beckenham.Shardul was unbeaten at the crease on 19 off just 10 balls, with four fours at stumps on Day 2.
Thakur’s fine show in the practice match now gives him an edge over fellow all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Shardul, who last played a Test for India in 2023, was not a part of India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while Nitish Kumar Reddy played all five Tests, scoring a century in the Melbourne Test.Shardul has a knack for taking wickets against the tide and is rated highly as a man with a golden arm. Whether he gets a go in the playing XI for the Headingley Test remains to be seen.In his 11 Test matches for India, Thakur has claimed 31 wickets, including one five-wicket haul, while accumulating 331 runs across 18 innings with a highest score of 67.Following strong performances for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, Thakur earned his Test squad recall for the England series. His previous Test appearance was against South Africa in Centurion during December 2023.
