England’s veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad and Indian right-arm quick Shardul Thakur have picked up injuries ahead of the much-anticipated second Test of the ongoing five-match series.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Broad tweaked his right calf in the warm-up. The pacer was “unable to train this afternoon with the rest of the England squad” and will now undergo scans to determine the extent of the injury.
While the ECB did not specify how Broad injured his calf, a report in The Guardian mentioned that the bowler slipped and hurt his ankle “while undertaking a light warm-up jog.”
Given Broad’s importance to this English side, it is unlikely that the team management and the selectors would take any risks and force the issue with his ankle.
In the potential absence of England’s second-highest Test match wicket-taker, skipper Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood would have a choice to make between Mark Wood and Craig Overton to maintain the four seam bowlers’ combination.
According to The Guardian, Thakur too is “struggling with a hamstring strain” and could be an unlikely participant for the second Test.
Thakur’s injury would be a blow to captain Virat Kohli’s wish to retain the combination of four seamers and a solitary spinner, as his greater batting abilities tilt the scales in his favour over Umesh Yadav.
Thakur provided solid support to India’s three main quicks – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, who played ahead of the injured Ishant Sharma – in the first Test at Trent Bridge.
The 29-year-old picked up four crucial wickets and showed impressive control and consistency in each of his small bursts. He had figures of 2/41 & 2/37 from his 26 overs in the Test match.
But if Thakur is not available for selection, India could drop the four-seamer theory and bring back their premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI.
Ashwin’s absence in Nottingham was a cause of disbelief for a lot of people as he has been in the best form of his life. The 34-year-old took 71 wickets at an average of just 20.33 while going for only 2.62 runs per over in the recently concluded first cycle of the World Test Championship. Ashwin’s tally was the highest in the first edition of the competition.
The off-spinner also enjoys a stellar first-class record in England. Having toured with the Indian side for multiple Test series and had stints with various County Championship teams, Ashwin has now taken 79 wickets in the UK at an average of just 25.92.
One other reason why Thakur was preferred over Ashwin is his batting abilities. Despite health problems, Ashwin has shown good signs of revival on that front as well since last winter.
He helped India save the New Year’s Test against Australia in Sydney with a resolute knock of 39 not out off 128 deliveries and a month later produced his 5th Test century (106 off 148 balls) on a raging turner in Chennai against England.
India won’t lose out much when it comes to batting capabilities in case Ashwin walks in the side in place of Thakur.
The team management may also consider bringing the experienced Ishant back in the side if he has fully recovered from the injury that triggered his absence from the first Test.
The tall right-arm quick could return in place of Siraj, who did pick up three wickets in Nottingham but had an expensive economy rate of 3.56.
