Team India in England is battling injury woes after Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Avesh Khan all suffering from different injury blows, there seems to be an indication that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to send Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav to England for the Test series, as per reports of Times of India.
But it has been learned that the call on India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumars' future in Test cricket will be taken after the T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in UAE later this year.
“The board had a discussion with Bhuvneshwar. It has been decided that he won’t be pushed to play Test cricket before the T20 World Cup. He has to first play three-four First-Class games,” a top BCCI official told TOI.
Since the right-arm pacer has been out of the Test arena for over three years with his last Test match was against South Africa back in January 2018. Since then injury and form have hampered Bhuvneshwar Kumar's career, who missed the IPL 2020 and other assignments dealing with various injuries.
“He hasn’t played the longer format for over three years. There’s a chance of him breaking down if he suddenly resumes playing Test cricket,” the BCCI official added.
It’s likely that a call on Bhuvneshwar will be taken before the tour of South Africa in December.
As far as Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav are concerned, both of them are currently with the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian team in Sri Lanka and according to reports, the logistics of their travel is being worked out.
With the five-match Test series between India and hosts England slated to begin from 4 August at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, Shaw and Yadav will most likely be available from the second Test onwards after undergoing mandatory quarantine in the UK.
(With TOI inputs)
