Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav likely to join Team India squad in England: Reports
Young opener Prithvi Shaw, middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav and off-spinner Jayant Yadav are likely to join the Team India Test squad in England following a spate of injuries in the visitors’ camp.
Shaw looks set to come in as cover for Shubman Gill, who is back in India after suffering a stress fracture in his shin, which ruled him out of the five-match Test series. All-rounder Washington Sundar and fast bowler Avesh Khan have also suffered finger injuries.
While Avesh Khan injured his finger during a practice game, Sundar could be out for up to six weeks. Moreover, Suryakumar Yadav has been picked following Ajinkya Rahane’s hamstring issue.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Team India’s management in England requested for two batsmen and an off-spinner as replacements for the injured players. Apart from Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav, Team India were keen on getting Jayant Yadav due to his batting skills. Jayant Yadav has a Test hundred to his name against England.
The report added that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already started making plans about how to fly the said players to England.
Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav are in Sri Lanka for the limited-overs series. Both featured in the three-wicket defeat in the third ODI on Friday. Meanwhile, Jayant Yadav is currently in India. He played three matches for Mumbai Indians in the first half of IPL 2021.
The BCCI had earlier turned down Team India management’s request to send Shaw to England as a replacement for Gill. But with the number of injuries mounting, the Indian board has now left been left with no option.
Although Avesh Khan is a fast bowler, Team India are unlikely to add another pacer to their squad, as they already have enough options in the current contingent present in the UK. Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav are already part of Team India’s pace battery in England.
Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav impressed for Team India in Sri Lanka ODIs
Both Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav played for Team India in all three ODIs of the series in Sri Lanka and had good returns. Shaw scored 105 runs in three matches at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 125. He began the series with a swashbuckling 43 off 24 and followed that up with scores of 13 and 49.
Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, was named the Player of the Series for scoring 124 runs at an average of 62 and a strike rate of 122.77. He notched up his maiden ODI half-century in the second match of the series on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, India’s Test series against England begins with the first match in Nottingham on August 4.