India’s vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the Test squad ahead of the fourth match against Ben Stokes’ England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Tuesday. The BCCI has also revealed that wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul is ruled out of the 4th Test of the five-match series. Rahul’s participation in the final Test match in Dharamsala is subject to fitness. Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was released from the squad for the third Test in Rajkot, has joined the team in Ranchi and is in likely to replace Bumrah, the highest wicket-taker of the series with 17 scalps, in the Playing XI.
With KS Bharat keeping wicket for Rohit Sharma’s Team India in Hyderabad, Rahul was added to the Indian XI as a premier batter for the series opener. Rahul scored 86 off 123 balls in the 1st Test against England’s Bazeballers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Former India vice-captain Rahul was unavailable for the 2nd Test due to a quadriceps strain. Rahul was then ruled out of the 3rd Test against England after reaching only 90 per cent of match fitness.
Rahul continues to recover
Rahul will continue his recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Hosts India are also without former skipper Virat Kohli for the remainder of the five-match Test series. Though India missed the services of Rahul and Kohli in Rajkot, the depleted Indian side showcased their bench strength to outclass England. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 500th Test wicket while youngsters Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel earned plaudits with impressive debuts for the hosts at Rajkot.
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Earning his maiden Test cap after another stellar season in the domestic arena, Sarfaraz announced himself with a brilliant knock of 62 off 66 balls. The Mumbai batter teamed up with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the 2nd innings to help Team India post 430-4 d in 98 overs. Jaiswal’s sublime double century paved the way for India to set an improbable target of 557 for England.
Bumrah-less India aim to seal series in Ranchi
Local hero Jadeja, who scored a fine century in the 1st innings, bagged a match-winning five-wicket haul in England’s second essay. Thanks to Jadeja and Jaiswal’s heroics, India crushed England by 434 runs in the 3rd Test. After recording its biggest win in Test history, India will host England for the penultimate encounter of the series at Ranchi’s SCA International Stadium Complex on Friday.
India’s updated squad for the 4th Test: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), KS Bharat (Wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.