IND vs AUS: Shardul Thakur likely for third Test at Sydney

Pacer Shardul Thakur at the MCG nets on December 23. Pic/Getty Images

India will take a call on who will play in place of pacer Umesh Yadav in the third Test at Sydney starting Thursday.

Though net bowler T Natarajan replaced Yadav in the Test squad, the Tamil Nadu pacer is unlikely to be considered for a place in the XI. The race will be between Mumbai's Shardul Thakur and Haryana's Navdeep Saini.

Sunday mid-day has learnt that Thakur has been sounded off by the team management for a call-up. His Test debut lasted only 10 balls in 2018 when he suffered a groin strain against West Indies at Hyderabad.

India are likely to stick with the five-bowler strategy and Thakur's decent batting ability tilts things in his favour.

He is capable of hitting some lusty blows as seen in the limited-overs series against Australia before the Tests began. Thakur has six half-centuries in first-class cricket.

It is also learnt that skipper Ajinkya Rahane is keen to go in with some experience rather than having two rookies [Saini and Mohammed Siraj] for the third Test.

Once the bowling department is sorted, the think tank will look into the changes on the batting front with Rohit Sharma now at their disposal.