Reports : India call up Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini as South Africa denies net bowlers

"The team communicated to the selectors that they were not provided the help of quality net bowlers in South Africa. Hence, the arrangement has been made after the match. There may be just one Test left but the team doesn't want to leave any stone unturned to better its performance," a top BCCI official told TOI.

"The decision to send fresh net bowlers was mulled for a week. But the team management insisted on having its own bowlers. Thakur will stay over for the ODIs. As for Saini, his growth has been impressive and the selectors and the team management want to have a look at him in the nets."

India’s preparation was affected ahead of the series due to long and busy international schedule for which Virat Kohli has already raised his voice. The team even decided not to play practice games as they had carried three fast pacers Mohammed Siraj, Ankit Rajpoot, and Basil Thampi to bowl in the nets. Saini’s name was also included in the list but after Gautam Gambhir’s insistence, he decided to play semifinal and final of Ranji Trophy. After starting the first Test in Newlands on January 5, all the three pacers were sent back to India.