Washington Sundar is the latest addition to the injury list of Indian players ahead of the Test series. He is expected to return home from England as he fractured his finger after being hit by a Mohammed Siraj delivery on the second day of the first-class warm-up game between India and County XI at Durham.
Shubman Gill and Avesh Khan have already been ruled out of the tour. Gill suffered a stress fracture on his left shin while fractured his finger. The Indian selectors had named a 24-member squad for the ICC World Test Championship final and the test series against England. But due to injuries, the squad is down to 21-members.
UPDATE – Fast bowler Avesh Khan remains under observation of the BCCI Medical Team. He will not be taking any further part on Day 2 and Day 3 of the warm-up game. https://t.co/Owc7fQpBL0
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 21, 2021
Sending India players to England from Sri Lanka will be difficult
The Indian team management had previously asked for Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal as replacements for Shubhman Gill, but the request was turned down. However now, as reported by the TOI, the BCCI is working on options to send backup players to England.
“We will see if replacements are needed to be sent to England immediately. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Travel restrictions is one such thing. If players are indeed sent that it will be from the batch that is in Sri Lanka at the moment. Sri Lanka is also on the ‘Red list’ for the UK government.
The board is figuring out logistics challenges before taking a call. Bubble-to-Bubble transfer isn’t possible. Selectors will decide how many players are needed to be sent if need arises. If Sri Lanka is moved to the ‘Amber list’ next week, the things will get easier,” a BCCI source said to TOI.
The five-match Test series between India and England starts from August 4, in Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
