Sunday mid-day has learnt that Thakur has been sounded off by the team management for a call-up. His Test debut lasted only 10 balls in 2018 when he suffered a groin strain against West Indies at Hyderabad.

India are likely to stick with the five-bowler strategy and Thakur's decent batting ability tilts things in his favour.

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He is capable of hitting some lusty blows as seen in the limited-overs series against Australia before the Tests began. Thakur has six half-centuries in first-class cricket.

It is also learnt that skipper Ajinkya Rahane is keen to go in with some experience rather than having two rookies [Saini and Mohammed Siraj] for the third Test.

Once the bowling department is sorted, the think tank will look into the changes on the batting front with Rohit Sharma now at their disposal.