Team India received an injury blow just hours before the start of the first Test against England in Chennai as spinner Axar Patel was ruled out of the series opener due to a knee problem. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the development on Friday morning, saying that the spin duo of Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar has been added to the squad in place of Axar.
“Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Paytm Test against England. The all-rounder complained of pain in his left knee during Team India’s optional training session on Thursday. He is being monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and while his detailed reports are awaited, he will not be available for selection for the opening match.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar to India’s squad. Both Nadeem and Chahar have been training with Team India as part of the standby group of players,” the BCCI statement read.
Axar was in contention to feature alongside Ravichandran Ashwin in the series opener while Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar remained the other options to choose from.
Axar’s replacements, Nadeem and Chahar do not have much experience in the longest format of the game. While Nadeem has only played one Test match for India, Chahar is yet to make his debut in red-ball cricket for the country, having only represented the nation in 1 T20I so far in his career.
