Why is Ravindra Jadeja not playing in today's 2nd India vs England Test?
India's premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will miss the 2nd Test against England, which starts on Friday (February 2) in Vishakhapatnam. The left-arm spinner suffered a hamstring injury during the fourth and final day of the first Test in Hyderabad.
He's the second player to be ruled out from the team after KL Rahul, who has a quadriceps strain. Jadeja's absence is an even bigger blow than Rahul's.
The all-rounder is not only among the best spin all-rounders India has ever produced but is also one of the best fielders in the world. In the first Test, he scored a brilliant 180-ball 87 in India's first innings which pushed them past 400. He took five wickets overall for a total cost of 219 runs.
However, a lack of incisiveness from him and other bowlers allowed England to recover from their first-innings deficit and set a target of 231, which they defended by 28 runs. In the second innings, his run-out for just two runs courtesy of a Ben Stokes direct hit, proved to be a massive punch to India's hopes of winning.
Who has replaced Ravindra Jadeja in India's 11?
Team India doesn't have any more all-rounders in the squad and only Kuldeep Yadav is the spinner, so they have called up Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar as covers.
Eventually, they decided to go with the experience of the left-arm wrist spinner. It would give the bowling attack more variety and Kuldeep has experience of playing with both Ashwin and Axar in the past. In eight Tests, he has 34 wickets at an average of 21.55, including three five-wicket hauls.
He might be able to replicate Jadeja's wicket-taking ability but it would leave India short in the batting department. The top and the middle order, which crumbled in the second innings in Hyderabad, would have to take more responsibility.
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