Shardul Thakur will fly back to India from South Africa, leaving the series midway. He is a part of the India A squad for the two unofficial Tests against South Africa A but will now return to India and will then fly to Sri Lanka for the limited over series against the hosts.

This is his first call up in the Indian team for a limited overs series. He was the part of the team for Windies Test series in 2016 but did not make his debut. There are chances of him being given a game in this series, as selectors have rested pace duo of Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, with him coming in as the third option.

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Shardul was surprisingly not included in the playing XI for the first unofficial Test against South Africa A, which came as a surprise and with the selectors announcing the squad a day later, it gives an indication that he was informed about his selection ahead of the game.

Shardul was earlier part of the backup players for ICC Champions Trophy along with Rishabh Pant, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav.

Apart from Shardul, Yuzvendra Chahal is the other member who has been recalled to the team, from the ‘A’ series. Though he is not the part of the Test squad but was there with the India A side for the tri-series. Axar Patel was also a member of the Indian team for tri-series but he was rushed to Sri Lanka on the final day due to a Test call-up. He did not make his debut though, as Kuldeep Yadav made his way back in the playing XI.

(Read Here: BCCI CEO Rahul Johri Confirms South Africa Tour)

Meanwhile, selectors have made oodles of changes in the limited overs team. Yuvraj Singh has been dropped from the team, whereas, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been replaced by the regulars. In another development, Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the vice-captain of Indian cricket team. He was expected to lead the side after reports of Virat Kohli being rested came into notice but the regular skipper decided to continue.

Though Rohit’s upliftment has indicated that Kohli will take some time off during the home season.

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(Read Here: Reason Why Yuvraj Singh Has Been Dropped)