India‘s all-rounder Shardul Thakur is currently out with an ankle injury. He injured his ankle during the South African tour that ended earlier this month.
Shardul Thakur played in the first Test but did not impress. He scored 24 and 2 runs with the bat and managed to take just one wicket while conceding 101 runs as India suffered an innings defeat against Centurions. Immediately after the test, he injured his shoulder while hitting the net and was also seen wearing an ice pack sling.
He did not play in the second Test, was not selected for the ongoing series against England and went to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a rehabilitation programme. And as he continues his recovery, Mumbai are waiting for the green light from the NCA to return.
Shardul Thakur can play in Ranji Trophy 2024:
Mumbai wanted Shardul Thakur to feature in the Ranji Trophy match against Kerala starting January 19 in Thiruvananthapuram. However, the NCA did not give him the required Return to Play (RTP) permission to play the game. Mumbai would have hoped that the situation would improve soon, but Shardul Thakur is yet to get approval from the NCA.
“Shardul Thakur is suffering from an ankle problem and has been advised by the National Cricket Academy to rest for two weeks. He will remain in Bangalore for further evaluation and course of action. He is likely to be included in the selection process soon,” said Raju Kulkarni, chief selection officer, Mumbai.
“We are still waiting for the Return to Play (RTP) report from NCA on Shardul Thakur.” We need to follow the steps and once the report arrives, we will use it for Ranji Get approval. Earn trophies. We are currently making the necessary arrangements and will only pick him up once we receive a report from the NCA. We want to get RTP before the sixth round match,” Kulkarni added.
Mumbai’s next match will be against Bengal on February 2. Shardul Thakur was excluded from the match. However, he might have a chance to play in the Ranji Trophy for the first time this season when Mumbai take on Chhattisgarh in Matchday 6 on February 9.
Mumbai have made a good start to their Ranji Trophy campaign. They won their first three matches but lost to Uttar Pradesh in the final match. They will be hoping to get back to winning ways against Bengal, who started with three consecutive draws before defeating Assam in their last match.
