The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday named pace sensation Thangarasu Natarajan as the replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav for the remainder of the Test series against Australia. 

Meanwhile, senior batsman Rohit Sharma has replaced Cheteshwar Pujara as vice-captain for the remainder of the series. He completed his 14-day quarantine period and has rejoined the squad in Melbourne.

Yadav sustained a strain in his left calf muscle during Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and underwent scans later that day, a statement from BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed. 

“The fast bowler will not recover completely ahead of the remaining two Test matches and has been ruled out of the series,” it said. 

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Pacer Shardul Thakur has also been included in the Indian squad ahead of the third Test in Sydney, starting January 7, as replacement for Mohammad Shami, who suffered a hairline fracture in his right forearm during the second innings of the first Test in Adelaide. 

Both Shami and Yadav will be headed to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation, the statement confirmed.

29-year-old Natarajan started as a net bowler for the Australia tour and was eventually included in the T20I and ODI squads. He picked up eight wickets during the four limited-overs appearances. 

Indian squad: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan.