Ajinkya Rahane will take no further part in the remaining two Tests of the India-England series after reportedly injuring his thumb during practice on Wednesday.
Manish Pandey has been brought in as his replacement, while pacer Shardul Thakur comes in place of Mohammed Shami, who had complained of a sore knee following the third Test in Mohali.
Reports suggested that Rahane had been hit on the thumb while practicing in the nets ahead of the fourth Test starting in Mumbai on Thursday. The middle-order batsman has been in woeful form through the series, managing just 63 runs in three Tests.
Shami on the other hand has played a crucial role in India’s ascendancy during the series, scalping breakthroughs through the series.
Skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday expressed concern over the pacer’s injury woes. Kohli said that the management did not want to stretch the pacer to play the Test owing to the stress on his knee.
Shami had undergone knee surgery after the last World Cup and was out of cricket for 15 months.
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