T Natarajan replaces Umesh Yadav in India’s Test squad

Melbourne, January 1, 2021

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced that pace bowler T Natarajan as the replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav for the last two Tests of the four-Test series against Australia.

Yadav had suffered a strain in his left calf muscle on the third day of the second Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne. He underwent scans later in the day. Doctors felt the bowler would not recover completely ahead of the remaining two Test matches and had been ruled out of the series.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named T Natarajan as Yadav’s replacement. Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Shardul Thakur was added to the Test squad as Mohd. Shami's replacement after the senior fast bowler suffered a hairline fracture in his right forearm.

"Both Shami and Umesh Yadav will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further rehabilitation of their injuries," a press release from BCCI said.

Thakur and Natarajan were with the Indian team as net bowlers.

Meanwhile, batsman Rohit Sharma has completed his quarantine and has now joined the Indian Cricket Team in Melbourne.

The team:

Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan

NNN