India have called up fast bowlers Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini to South Africa to have a go at their batsmen in the nets ahead of the third Test at Wanderers next week, according to reports.
A day after India conceded the series to South Africa by losing the Centurion Test, the team management asked the two bowlers to leave for South Africa. According to the Times of India, the Indian team was not happy with the quality of net bowlers provided to them in South Africa.
“There may be just one Test left but the team doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned to better its performance,” the daily quoted an unnamed official as saying. Thakur and Saini will join Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammad Siraj, Avesh Khan and Basil Thampi as net bowlers, the Indian Express reported.
The third Test in Johannesburg begins on Wednesday and is expected to be a fast bowler’s paradise, according to reports. Thakur and Saini will get only two days in the nets before the start of the match. While Thakur was playing for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Saini had opted to play the Ranji Trophy semi-final and final for Delhi instead of travelling to South Africa earlier, TOI reported.
“The decision to send fresh net bowlers was mulled for a week,” the official added. “But the team management insisted on having its own bowlers. Thakur will stay over for the ODIs. As for Saini, his growth has been impressive and the selectors and the team management want to have a look at him in the nets.”
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