Jack Leach has been ruled out of the rest of England's Test series against India after failing to recover from a knee injury.
The left-arm spinner damaged his left knee fielding on the opening day of the first Test in Hyderabad, diving to stop a boundary and colliding with the ground. He then exacerbated the injury on the second morning.
The swelling in the 32-year-old's knee prevented him from moving freely, limiting him to a maximum of four-pver spells for the rest of the Test. Leach bowled 26 overs in the first innings, but only 10 in the second. He was still able to dismiss Shreyas Iyer, and England won by 28 runs.
He also missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam, which India won to square the series. While it was hoped that the 10-day break in the series would afford Leach more time to recover, though he remained a doubt for the third Test in Rajkot.
But the England team assessed the situation in Abu Dhabi, and then Jack Leach decided to return home for further treatment and miss the last three Tests.
“England and Somerset spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the rest of England Men’s Test tour of India with a left knee injury. Leach sustained the injury during England’s first Test victory in Hyderabad and missed the second Test in Vizag as a result. He will fly home from Abu Dhabi in the next 24 hours, where the England team has been staying ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, which starts on Thursday.
Leach will work closely with the England and Somerset medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation. England will not be calling up a replacement,” the ECB statement read.
Now England’s spin options are limited to Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir - who made his debut in the second Test as a replacement for Leach. Joe Root has been the sole all-rounder for the England team.
This also means, England will have to move from their one-pacer approach and might field James Anderson and one more pacer in either Mark Wood or Ollie Robinson.
(ECB inputs)
