India's star all-rounder Shardul Thakur will miss Mumbai's upcoming Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram, scheduled to begin on January 19, due to an ankle injury he is believed to have suffered during India's tour of South Africa. The lingering injury might rule him out of the entire Ranji Trophy season, he it doesn't improve.
In the opening Test at Centurion, Shardul showed some form with the bat but found it challenging to make a mark with his bowling, leaking runs without taking wickets. Mukesh Kumar stepped in for him in the second Test, although India did not mention any specific injury concerning Shardul at that time.
"He has informed the MCA that he will take two more weeks to recover. We are also waiting for an official communication from the NCA (National Cricket Academy),” Ajinkya Naik, the Mumbai Cricket Association secretary, told Sportstar.
Mumbai's squad: Ajinkya Rahane (Capt.), Jay Bista, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Shivam Dube, Suved Parkar, Prasad Pawar (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Mohit Avasthi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Royston Dias, Sylvester Dsouza, Himanshu Singh.
Notably, Shardul couldn't make it to India's 16-member strong squad for the first two Tests against England which is slated to kick off from January 25.
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