The 24-year-old pacer, handed his maiden international cap, is being hailed as a 'good replacement' by former India quick Varun Aaron
Going into the penultimate game of the rubber, the pressing question is whether to tweak their conservative approach and bolster the spin department by playing left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav at the cost of a spin all-rounder.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a promise to himself post the Australia tour that he would improve his bowling.
Thakur, who resumed Day 3 unbeaten, brought up his century with ease, reinforcing his case as the ideal seam-bowling all-rounder ahead of the Leeds Test.
Joe Root's patient unbeaten 99 led England to 251-4 on an attritional and compelling first day of the third Test against India at Lord's on Thursday.
Shubman Gill is the flavour of the season after his stupendous show in the recent Test series against England but he will face a contender in Axar Patel for vice-captaincy
Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the second Test at Edgbaston, as part of his workload management.
'Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it's a very good chance to play this Test.'
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
England's scoring rate of 2.91 runs per over during the second session was the second-slowest in a home Test in the Bazball era, only behind their 2.72 per over effort against New Zealand at Lord's in 2022.
Handed the reins of a depleted Indian side in his maiden stint as Test captain, the 24-year-old has been tasked with breaking a 17-year drought without the experience of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli by his side.
Gill second successive ton as skipper takes India to 310 for 5
As India gear up for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, former captain Ajinkya Rahane has raised a tactical alarm: the team's all-rounder-heavy approach might be hurting their chances.
Soon after gently rolling his arm over in the field of play, Akash Deep cut a forlorn figure as uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna bowled full tilt at India's first outdoor training session ahead of the fourth Test.
Commentators speculated the injury might be a fracture, though the extent of the damage remains unconfirmed.
Shubman Gill played a masterful captain's knock with his second century of the series on the opening day of the second Test
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
Maybe Shubman Gill didn't want Shardul Thakur , wanted Kuldeep Yadav: Sunil Gavaskar questions captain's say in XI
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the uncapped Anshul Kamboj belongs to the rare breed of fast bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Jasprit Bumrah.
India may have made tactical errors, but former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes the bigger culprit was the weather.
Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Shubman Gill were among India's Test regulars in action during the second day of the intra-squad match against India A.
Ravindra Jadeja continued his renaissance as a batter, delivering his best-ever outing during the recent Test series in England and joining a list of legends
'It felt like you had to force the ball through, which in England were are not used to -- you usually get rewards for your cuts and clips.'
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
After a poor show by the lower-order batters in the first Leeds Test, Team India scripted a memorable comeback at Birmingham - one for the history books
IMAGES from Day 1 of the third Test match between England and India at Lord's, London, on Thursday.
India A batters enjoyed their time on a placid batting track with all the top four batters helping themselves to half-centuries as the first unofficial 'Test' against England Lions ended in a draw
Former captain Nasser Hussain criticised the slow over rate in the third Test between India and England at Lord's.
Bumrah, when quizzed about the repeated ball change, maintained a neutral tone on the matter.
As India went into the second Test against England on Wednesday without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, former players and coaches questioned the thinking behind resting the world's best bowler when they trail 0-1 in the series.
India pacer Akash Deep was on Tuesday ruled out of the fourth Test against England due to a groin injury, and captain Shubman Gill said uncapped fast bowler Anshul Kamboj is close to making his debut at Old Trafford.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Modi should take inspiration from former prime minister Indira Gandhi and stand up to the president of the United States.
Gill, Rahul score fifties in intra-squad practice match against India A ahead of England Test
England Lions were 192 for 3 in 46 overs in reply to India A's 348 at stumps on the second day of their second unofficial Test, in Northampton on Saturday.
England stayed calm under intense pressure to beat India by 22 runs on a final day of simmering tension and drama in the third Test at Lord's on Monday and move 2-1 up in the series.
Images from Day 5 of the third Test between England and India at Lord's on Monday.
After India captain Shubman Gill had scored another masterful century at Edgbaston, India fast bowlers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj blew away England's top order.
Fired-up England reduced India to 58/4 chasing 193 for victory in a highly-charged final session on day four on Sunday as a gripping third Test at Lord's.
'Had those decisions gone our way, the day looks completely different, but that is Test cricket and we move on.'
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