India vs England: Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul ruled out of second Test

India have been dealt a double blow for the second Test against England with Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul ruled out with injuries. Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar have come in as replacements into the squad.

Allrounder Jadeja picked up a hamstring injury during the fourth day’s play in Hyderabad while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain. As per a BCCI statement, their progress will be monitored.

The BCCI statement further said, “Saransh Jain has been named as a replacement for Washington Sundar in the India A squad for the third and final multi-day game against England Lions starting February 1, 2024 in Ahmedabad.”

“Avesh Khan will continue to travel with his Ranji Trophy team, Madhya Pradesh and will join the Test squad if required.”

Worryingly, KL Rahul had injured his right thigh while fielding in the IPL in May last year and it required a surgery, which kept him out of the game for four months.

Ever since making his comeback from injury in September, KL Rahul has displayed stellar form. Keeping wickets in the ODI World Cup and more recently in the Test series in South Africa added to his workload.

Jadeja’s all-round abilities are invaluable to the team. Off-spinner Sundar, who has shown a lot of promise in his four-Test career, could come in as Jadeja’s replacement in the playing eleven.

Both Rahul and Jadeja had made significant contributions in the first Test before England staged a remarkable comeback. Jadeja snapped up five wickets and made 87 runs in the first innings while Rahul scored 86.

The development further hurts the hosts who are already without Virat Kohli due to personal reasons.

India lost the opening Test of the five-match series by 28 runs, failing to chase down a 231 run total after Ollie Pope scored a match-changing 196 runs. India’s chase was dented by Tom Hartley’s seven-wicket haul.

Though Sarfaraz has earned a well-deserved call-up, the chances of Rajat Patidar, who was already part of the 15 member squad, making his debut are higher.

The second Test gets underway in Visakhapatnam from 2 February.

India’s updated squad for second 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.