Senior Indian pacer Umesh Yadav will undergo a fitness test in the next two days which will determine his selection for the third Test against England, which will be a Pink-Ball encounter. The series is level at 1-all with England winning the first test in Chennai and India bouncing back in the second. Meanwhile, as per reports in PTI, the pitch at the newly built Moreta stadium is expected to be a turning track with Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel picking 15 of the 20 second innings wickets in Chennai.
Keeping in mind that the Pink-Ball swings more under lights, the thinktank is willing to play an extra seamer in place of Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep played Test cricket after a long gap of 3 years picking two wickets in the second innings on the fourth day.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah automatically comes back after rest and the toss-up will be between Umesh and Mohammed Siraj for the third pacer’s slot. Umesh was ruled out during the second Test against Australia in Melbourne last December due to a calf muscle injury.
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Umesh Yadav To Give Fitness Test For Selection
“Umesh’s fitness test will happen in a couple of days time,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on Friday.
A former Indian spinner also spoke about the nature of the wicket that might be on offer in the third Test.
“Look, it doesn’t matter if the ball is red or pink. If you keep a dry wicket, ball will turn and extra lacquer won’t be of any consequence. However, if there is dew then obviously the ball will start skidding and it might just be good for batting. So that can’t be discounted,” he said.
Umpires Confirmed For Last 2 Tests
Meanwhile, the BCCI has also confirmed the umpires for the last two Test matches t be played in Ahmedabad. Anil Chaudhary will join ICC Elite panel umpire Nitin Menon for the third Test, Virender Sharma will partner Menon for the fourth Test on the field.
Match Officials for the last two Tests:
Third Test (from February 24) in Ahmedabad: Nitin Menon, Anil Chaudhary (on-field umpires), C Shamshuddin (3rd umpire) and KN Ananthapadmanabhan (4th umpire); Match referee: Javagal Srinath
Fourth Test (from March 4) in Ahmedabad: Nitin Menon, Virender Sharma (on-field umpires), Anil Chaudhary (3rd umpire) and C Shamshuddin (4th umpire); Match referee: Javagal Srinath
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