Image Credit- BCCI
Jack Leach’s knee injury has prevented him from
playing in the remaining Test matches between England and India. On the first
day of the first Test in Hyderabad, the left-arm spinner hurt his left knee
while fielding when he dove to stop a boundary and struck the ground. The next
morning, he made the damage worse.
Due to the swelling in his knee, the 32-year-old was
unable to move freely and could only play four overs stints for the rest of the
Test. Leach could only bowl 10 overs in the second innings, despite being able
to bowl 26 overs in the first. Even so, he managed to get rid of Shreyas Iyer,
and England won by a margin of 28 runs.
He was then declared out of the second Test in
Visakhapatnam, which India won to level the series, due to his ailment not
getting better. It was initially thought that Leach would have more time to
heal over the 10-day break in the series, but he was still doubtful for the
third Test in Rajkot.
Leach has made the decision to return home for
additional treatment and miss the final three Test matches after receiving
additional evaluation in Abu Dhabi, where the England squad has been stationed
during this time.
A statement from the ECB read: “He will fly home
from Abu Dhabi in the next 24 hours, where the England team have been staying
ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, which starts on Thursday.
“Leach will work closely with the England and
Somerset medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation.”
It was confirmed by England that they will not be
selecting a substitute for Leach. With Joe Root serving as the team’s lone
all-rounder, England’s spin options are now restricted to the youthful trio of
Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir, who made his debut in the second
Test as a substitute for Leach, his Somerset teammate.
With Leach out, England will probably abandon their
one-seamer strategy for the upcoming Test, which starts on Thursday. James
Anderson might be paired by the tourists with Ollie Robinson or Mark Wood, who
was Anderson’s replacement for the second Test after Wood played the first.