The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that two key players KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out of the second Test against England. The hosts are currently 0-1 down in the five-match series after losing the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. Coming back to Jadeja and Rahul, both have sustained injuries according to the statement from the BCCI.
While the former damaged his hamstring while running on the fourth day, Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain after the end of the opening Test. These injuries have ruled both players out of the second Test which will commence on February 2. The medical team of the BCCI will monitor their progress. Meanwhile, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has added three players to the squad namely, Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan and Saurabh Kumar.
All these players were part of the India A squad for the series against England Lions but will now join the Indian team. This is also the maiden call-up for Sarfaraz in the Indian team following his consistent performances at the domestic level in the last few years. Saransh Jain has been added to India A squad replacing Sundar for the third and final multi-day encounter against the Lions.
It remains to be seen now if either of Rajat Patidar or Sarfaraz Khan gets the Test debut for the Vizag Test as two slots are now available in the line-up. However, Sundar is likely to replace Jadeja more so because of his batting prowess even as Saurabh Kumar is the left-arm spinner who could get an opportunity as well.
India's Updated Squad for 2nd Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.
