Ace England fast bowler Steward Broad has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against India after sustaining a tear in his calf. Saqib Mahmood has been added to the squad as cover. Meanwhile, for India, Shardul Thakur has been ruled out of the second Test due to a hamstring injury.
“He [Broad] underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday lunchtime, which revealed a tear. Broad sustained the injury during the warm-up on Tuesday afternoon at Lord’s. England have called up Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood as cover,”
ECB’s statement read.
England have been hit with several injuries this summer. Jofra Archer constant elbow troubles and injury has kept him out of action throughout the summer, and he is ruled out of any form of cricket for the entire year.
Chris Woakes has a bruised heel, while Ben Stokes has taken a break from all forms of cricket due to personal reasons. Olly Stone has been ruled out of the summer due to a stress fracture.
James Anderson has a tight quad and might be a doubtful starter. There is a possibility that he could miss the second Test as well. Thus, England might be left without the famed duo of Anderson and Broad (an experienced of 1145 wickets combined) for the second Test. If Anderson does miss out, this would be the first time since October 2016 that England would play a Test match without either of their premier fast bowlers.
Broad’s form may not have been the best as he returned with just one wicket in the first Test, but his absence is a body blow to England. He has taken 95 Test wickets at Lord’s, and moreover, it is a happy hunting ground for him with the bat as well (four fifties and a hundred while amassing 891 runs at an average of 28.74).
While Mark Wood is likely to return to the playing XI in place of Broad, Craig Overton or Saqib Mahmood might replace Anderson if the latter is ruled out. Fortunately for England, Moeen Ali is all set for a comeback as well as he was called up into the Test squad a couple of days ago.
India also have been hit with an injury concern. Shardul Thakur will miss the second Test match at Lord’s with a hamstring injury. However, skipper Virat Kohli did acknowledge that the 29-year-old pacer is likely to be fit in time for the third Test at Headingley, Leeds.
Kohli and Co face a selection headache ahead of the second Test match at Lord’s. With Thakur ruled out, the No. 8 slot could be filled by a second spinner (Ravichandran Ashwin) or a fourth fast bowler (Ishant Sharma). After the first Test, Kohli did admit that the combination of 4 fast bowlers and a spinner would be the template they would want to follow.
Thus, it could be a toss-up between Ishant and Ashwin. The latter has played just one Test match at Lord’s in 2018 and he did not pick up a single wicket. Meanwhile, Ishant has played three Tests at the iconic venue and has picked up 12 wickets, including the famous 7/74 in the 2014 Test match that India won.
