New Delhi: Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the Indian squad for the fourth Test against England in Ranchi, the BCCI announced on Tuesday. At the same time, the Indian board also announced batter KL Rahul will remain on the sidelines due to the injury he received in the series opener in Hyderabad. Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was released from the third Test, has rejoined the squad.
Bumrah’s release from the fourth Test was done keeping in mind the workload management “Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad for the 4th Test against England in Ranchi. The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and amount of cricket he has played in recent times,” the BCCI stated in its release.
“Meanwhile, KL Rahul is ruled out of the 4th Test. His participation in the final Test match in Dharamsala is subject to fitness,” it added further. So far, in three Tests, Bumrah has India’s star pacer among the bunch. In six innings, Bumrah took 17 wickets in total, including a six-wicket haul in the second match in Visakhapatnam.
Rahul, who scored 86 and 22 in the first Test in Hyderabad, had earlier missed the second and third Tests, which India won. The right-hander had complained of right quadriceps pain after the first Test. Earlier before the third Test, the BCCI informed that Rahul reached 90 per cent of match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the medical team.
He is currently undergoing his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Mukesh, who played the second game against England without much success, was sent to play Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match against Bihar at Eden Gardens.
The right-arm fast bowler didn’t disappoint as he took 10 wickets in the game to help his team win by an innings and 204 runs. India lead the series 2-1 with the fourth game starting from February 23 at the JSCA Stadium.
With no Bumrah in the side, Mohammed Siraj will be leading the Indian pace attack that consists of Mukesh and uncapped Akash Deep. If India opts for a three-pace attack, Bengal pacer Akash will be making his debut in Ranchi.
India’s Updated Squad For 4th Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.