The uncertainty over the fitness of Rahul Tewatia and Varun Chakravarthy might open the door for Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan spinner Rahul Chahar in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against England.

As per a Cricbuzz report, Chahar, who has been in the team’s bio-bubble since the Test series versus England as one of the standby players, becomes an automatic pick. 

The report also said that the leg-spinner attended practice with the Indian team on Monday (March 8).

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Other cricketers like KS Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Priyank Panchal – who were part of the reserves – were released for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy while Chahar had stayed put with the team.

The 21-year-old Chahar had played a key role in Mumbai’s triumphant IPL campaign in UAE last year. He made his India debut in a T20I game against West Indies in 2019 but has not played again since that match in the Caribbean.

Notably, both Chakravarthy and Tewatia failed to clear the fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore last month.

According to Cricbuzz, Tewatia’s second fitness test result isn't known yet but he is also in quarantine in Ahmedabad along with the rest of the T20I squad and even trained with the Indian team on Monday evening.

On the other hand, Chakravarthy was reportedly not part of the training session and he has been asked to work at NCA to achieve the fitness standards.

Meanwhile, the report further tells that the BCCI has asked the selectors to identify potential India prospects and send them for a fitness test in advance.

The board has clearly mentioned that only those who are able to prove their fitness will be considered for selection.

(Inputs from Cricbuzz)