Ravindra Jadeja will miss India’s entire four-match Test series against England, scheduled to start from February 5, after a BCCI official revealed that he wouldn’t recover in time from his thumb injury.
After a historic win in the 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Men in Blue will next host England in four Test matches, five T20 Internationals, and three ODIs. While the first two Test matches will be played in Chennai, the next two will be in Ahmedabad.
India had omitted Jadeja from the 18-man squad for the first two Test matches, and it seems like the team will have to make do without the Saurashtra star for the remaining series.
“He is out of Test series, and he will take more than six weeks to recover completely. The selectors will take a call later, whether to include him in the team for the shorter formats,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.
During Jadeja’s first innings batting against Australia in Sydney, the southpaw had dislocated his left thumb. He has since undergone surgery in Australia and will need six weeks to recover.
Jadeja will travel to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for rehabilitation, and the selectors are yet to decide on his participation in the ODI and T20I series.
The experienced all-rounder played a pivotal role in helping India bounce back in the four-match Test series against Australia after the Adelaide debacle. Apart from his 57-run knock in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test match, Jadeja's three-wicket haul had helped India level the series 1-1.
While an injured Jadeja couldn't contribute much with the bat in Sydney, his four-wicket haul had helped India limit the hosts to 338 runs. The Sydney will also be remembered for Jadeja’s exceptional fielding to dismiss a well-set Steve Smith.
India squad for first two Tests against England: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul (subject to fitness after the first Test), Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ David Gray
