If reports are to be believed from various sources the Indian team contingent is facing an injury crisis in England right now ahead of the five-match Test series which begins from August 4 in Trent Bridge. There has been no official statement or communication from the BCCI as of yet.
Opener Shubman Gill is already reportedly back in India after sustaining a stress fracture to his shin as evident from his Instagram stories. He played in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and scored 28 and 8 in two innings.
On the other hand, Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar reportedly suffered injuries during the County Select XI and Indians warmup match which began on July 20 in Durham. Both Avesh and Sundar played for the County XI side as they were short of fielding 11 players due to the COVID-19 situation.
BCCI reported that Avesh Khan is being monitored for an injury to the thumb of his left hand after being hit by Hanuma Vihari shot on day one, while Times of India reported that Washington Sundar has suffered a finger injury on day two and was supposedly ruled out of the England series, though he came out to field later on.
Therefore keeping in mind the three possible exclusions from the India Test squad for the England Tests, Team COC presents to you the three possible and ideal replacements for Team India in place of Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar.
Indian team contingent had requested the BCCI to send in Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal as replacements for Shubman Gill, but the request was refused. However, Shaw can be sent to England for the Test series, as he is in good form and Padikkal can be utilized in the T20I series against Sir Lanka.
Shaw might also have a chance at redemption in red-ball cricket after his unceremonious ouster after the Adelaide Test debacle in the Australia series last year. He might not get to play with Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul in line to replace Shubman Gill in the playing XI and Abhimanyu Easwaran also in the reserves.
ENG v IND 2021: Avesh Khan all but ruled out of England series due to fractured thumb- Report
For Avesh Khan, the best bet to be a net bowler might be Navdeep Saini who is in Sri Lanka as well. Saini was in the Indian squad for the Australia tour and played in a couple of Test matches as well. He has good pace, something that Indian batsmen would like to practice against given England having the likes of Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood.
ENG v IND 2021: Washington Sundar suffers injury in warm-up game; ruled out of England Tests- Report
Coming to the last possible replacement in place of Washington Sundar, the BCCI can send Deepak Chahar, who had shown his batting chops in Sri Lanka. India already has spin options in Akshar Patel, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja which is ideal for England conditions, and having a fast-bowling all-rounder might help their case.
Deepak Chahar might also get his chance to show off his red-ball prowess and his ability to swing the ball might give India just what it wants, someone who could use the England conditions which helps swing and seam.
