Jadeja and Rahul ruled out of second Test against England،
Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been ruled out of the second Test against England which begins on February 2 in Visakhapatnam.
Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad, while Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps, the BCCI said in a statement. Middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and all-rounder Washington Sundar have been added to the Indian squad.
Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh, who has 290 first-class wickets at 24.41, has already been part of the India Test squad – he was picked for their tour of Bangladesh in December 2022 – although he has not yet made his debut. He comes into the team in excellent form, having taken five second-innings wickets in India A's recent win over the England Lions. This match also included a 161 from Sarfaraz, who has been constantly knocking on selectors' doors over the past few seasons with his prolific first-class returns; he currently averages 69.85, with 14 centuries in 45 matches.
The absence of Jadeja and Rahul leaves India significantly weakened in their bid to bounce back from their 28-run defeat in the first Test. Apart from the injured duo, they will continue to be without Virat Kohli, who pulled out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons.
Jadeja, who stopped in apparent distress after being run out in India's fourth innings, took 3 for 88 and 2 for 131 in Hyderabad besides scoring 87 and 2. Rahul made 86 in the first India innings. While it seems likely that uncapped Rajat Patidar, who was added to the squad after Kohli's withdrawal, will take Rahul's place in the Indian middle order in Visakhapatnam, India may find it harder to replace Jadeja.
Since the start of 2016, Jadeja has been one of the most versatile players in world cricket, averaging over 40 with the bat and under 25 with the ball over a span of 53 Test matches . Sundar comes closest to being a one-and-done replacement with his ability to bat at No. 6 or 7 and play with his fingers, but it remains to be seen whether he can handle a bowling workload comparable to that from Jadeja, who bowls an average of almost 44 overs per Test at home. Sundar's previous four Tests – the last of which came in 2021 – brought him three fifties and a batting average of 66.25, but just six wickets at an average of 49.83.
With India's preferred attacking left wrist, will probably come. on the side. Kuldeep has an excellent Test record – 34 wickets at 21.55 – although he has been a sporadical presence in the Indian attack thanks to the presence of Jadeja and Ashwin, playing only eight Tests since his debut in 2017. Kuldeep has was the player of the match in his greatest number. recent Test appearance, scoring 8 for 113 in a 188-run win over Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.
Indian squad for second Test against 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, Saurabh Kumar.
