Ahead of their second Test match against India, England has suffered a major blow with experienced spinner Jack Leach missing the match scheduled to start from Friday at Visakhapatnam. Leach faced a knee issue while fielding on the opening day of England’s thrilling 28-run victory over India in the opening Test in Hyderabad, but the left-armer still managed to feature in the game and also bowled 10 overs during the hosts’ second innings, as per ICC. England was hoping that the injury would settle down and Leach would make himself available for the second Test, but skipper Ben Stokes revealed the 32-year-old would be forced to sit out during the crucial ICC World Test Championship encounter.
“He is ruled out of the second Test,” Stokes said of Leach as quoted by ICC.
“Unfortunately, the knock he took resulted in a haematoma in his leg. It is a big shame for us, a big shame for Jack, obviously after a long time out of the game with his back.”
“To sustain that injury, first game back, obviously it is frustrating. But it is something we are assessing every day. The medical team have taken over that, and hopefully, it is not something that is too serious and keeps him out for longer in the series.”
England are still yet to finalise the make-up of their XI for the second Test, with young uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in contention to replace Leach should the tourists look to include another spinner.
England also have the option of calling on veteran seamer James Anderson in case conditions are suitable, with Stokes indicating he would wait until Thursday before deciding his final XI.
Stokes expressed optimism that Bashir could perform well on debut if chosen to partner fellow spinners Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley during the second Test.
“If he was to play on this tour, then the great thing he has on his side is, what is there to lose?” Stokes said.
“That is how I will be thinking about it, if he gets the chance to play: just to make sure I can give him the best experience I possibly can. Because you only play your first Test match once. If he does play, then I will be trying to make it as enjoyable and fun for him as I can.”
“Myself, Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) and Popey (vice-captain Ollie Pope) will probably have a longer think about it. We looked at the wicket; I gave it a tap, and a play-around to make it look like I knew what I was doing. Bash is in the squad, we have not brought him here to have an experience. If we feel we want to turn to him, we will,” he concluded.
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