Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran added to main squad
Opener Prithvi Shaw and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav have been added to the Indian Test squad for the five-match series against England starting August 4 as replacements to injured players Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar.
Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was in stand-bye has been added to the main squad with stand-bye pacer Avesh Khan also returning home with a fractured left thumb.
Gill is out with shin splints while Sundar has an injury to his right-hand bowling finger.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav as replacements,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a media release.
“All-rounder Washington Sundar had taken an injection on his right-hand bowling finger. However, his recovery will take longer than expected and he is not bowling-fit. He is ruled out of the remainder of the tour,” it further stated.
Both Avesh and Washington sustained their injuries while turning up for County XI in the first-class warm-up game against their own side. This was done after multiple players in the home team were ruled out either due to injury or because of COVID-19 isolation.
“Fast bowler Avesh Khan suffered a blow to his left thumb on Day 1 of the warm-up game. He was taken for an X-Ray and the result confirmed a fracture. A specialist was consulted for further management of his injury. He is ruled out of India’s Tour of England,” the BCCI said.
Surya has been among the runs and was named player of the series in the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka, which the visitors won 2-1 in Colombo.
The aggressive right-handed batsman also scored a blistering fifty in the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Sunday and has a first-class average of 44 with 14 hundreds for Mumbai and West Zone.
The Board also informed that wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, who had tested positive for Covid, “has recovered from COVID-19 with two negative RT-PCR tests. He (Pant) has begun his preparations for the upcoming Test series after clearance from the BCCI Medical Team,” the statement said.
The BCCI also stated that bowling coach Bharat Arun, wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha and Easwaran have completed their self-isolation in London and have joined Indian team in Durham.
There were reports that off-spinner Jayant Yadav was also supposed to go to UK as Washington’s replacement but it was learnt that he won’t be required as of now.
Similarly, Devdutt Padikkal who has been on team management’s radar wasn’t sent as it was felt that he needs to play at least one more season of red ball cricket before being considered for Test as he currently averages 34.
A senior BCCI official had earlier said that both players (Surya and Shaw) would have a bubble-to-bubble transfer from Colombo to London.
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.
Standby players: Prasidh Krishna, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
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