4 Indian players who might be dropped for the ODI series against South Africa

4. Shardul Thakur

Though Shardul Thakur had a memorable T20I series against New Zealand where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker with eight scalps to his name, his bowling came under the scanner during the just-concluded three-match ODI series in which almost all Indian bowlers suffered a rare setback.

Having recorded an economy of 8.89 in the series opener at Seddon Park, the 28-year-old was expected to be replaced by Navdeep Saini for the must-win encounter at Auckland. But, Virat Kohli’s decision of retaining Thakur and dropping Mohammed Shami for bringing Saini into the Playing XI did not go well with the fans and pundits.

Thakur who finished second ODI with the figures of 2/60 in 10 overs was taken to the cleaners in the final game of the series at Mount Maunganui having finished with an economy of 9.49. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar likely to return from the injuries and Mohammed Shami already in the ranks, Thakur’s ODI spot remains doubtful. The Mumbaikar’s expensive spells against Blackcaps might certainly lead to his exclusion from the Indian ODI squad against South Africa.