India will be without Ajinkya Rahane for the rest of the series against England, the BCCI has announced, with Manish Pandey called up for the first time to the Test squad as his replacement. 

Rahane was hit on the right index finger during practice and “sustained an avulsion fracture”.

Currently, both uncapped players Shardul Thakur and Manish Pandey are playing in the Ranji trophy for their respective teams Mumbai and Karnataka.

Regarding Shardul Thakur’s inclusion, who was the highest wicket-taker in 2015-2016 season, BCCI in a press release said,

“

Mumbai medium pacer Shardul Thakur has been called as back up for India pacer Mohammed Shami, who is nursing a sore knee. The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring his progress and a decision on his participation will be taken before the start of the fourth Test match.

” 

However, India's squad includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose last Test match in October produced a match-winning five-wicket haul. 

Should Shami be ruled out, it is likely that Bhuvneshwar steps in.

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