Big shock to England; Left-arm spinner likely to miss second Test against India
Leach's injury means England may not be able to carry out their plan to play four spinners in Visakhapatnam.
New Delhi: England left-arm spinner Jack Leach is likely to miss the second Test match against India, to be played from February 2 at the Dr. YSRajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium – Visakhapatnam. The spinner was injured while playing in the first Test match in Hyderabad.
He aggravated the injury later in the same match, bowling with a swollen joint and taking out the wicket of Shreyas Iyer in the second innings.
“He's a tough guy, Leachy, so I'm not sure. You can never really write him off. We'll see how he does in a few days,” leadoff hitter Zak Crawley told reporters.
Leach's injury means England may not be able to implement their plan to play four spinners in Visakhapatnam, with uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir likely to be given a debut in case the senior spinner is not fit in time for the second Test.
Bashir has played just six first-class matches and has 10 wickets to his name. He arrived in India during the Hyderabad Test after visa issues due to his Pakistani origin forced him to return home to London and obtain the visa there.
'He's a great boy, he has a lot in him. He knows what he is trying to do with his bowling, and he backs himself. I like that and I feel like if he got his chance in this series he would do well,” Crawley added.
Although England have a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, Crawley, who was part of the 2021 touring party and won the opening match in Chennai before suffering a slide to lose the series 3-1, will not. India light.
“Whoever they choose, it will be a very good team. They are a top team in their own circumstances. There are still four games to go and we have to stick to what we are good at. Hopefully that's where the results come from, but we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We're preparing for this like it's the first game, we'll stay where we are and we'll see where that takes us.”
India will miss the services of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries, but Crawley stated that England are focused on what they need to get things right in Visakhapatnam.
“To be honest, we haven't talked about that yet. Like I said, it sounds cliché, but we stick to what we're good at and we don't worry too much about what they do. There are two very good players missing, but when I look at their depth, two very good players have been added. So that won't change anything for us.”
“We just try to play the same, read the terms on day one and see what happens from then on. They are absolutely a top team in their own circumstances. There are four games left, we have to stick to what we are good at and hopefully the results will come from that,” he said.