Jack Leach ruled out: India vs England 2024
England declared they will not be selecting a Leach substitute.
Jack Leach’s knee injury has prevented him from playing in the remaining Test matches between England and India. On the first day of the first Test in Hyderabad, the left-arm spinner hurt his left knee while fielding when he dove to stop a boundary and struck the ground. The next morning, he made the damage worse.
Due to the swelling in his knee, the 32-year-old was unable to move freely and could only play four overs stints for the rest of the Test. Leach could only bowl 10 overs in the second innings, despite being able to bowl 26 overs in the first. Even so, he managed to get rid of Shreyas Iyer, and England won by a margin of 28 runs.
He was then declared out of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, which India won to level the series, due to his ailment not getting better. It was initially thought that Leach would have more time to heal over the 10-day break in the series, but he was still doubtful for the third Test in Rajkot.
Leach has made the decision to return home for additional treatment and miss the final three Test matches after receiving additional evaluation in Abu Dhabi, where the England squad has been stationed during this time.
He will return from Abu Dhabi, where the England squad has been staying ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, which begins on Thursday, according to an ECB statement. “Leach will work closely with the England and Somerset medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation.”
England said that they will not be selecting a replacement for Leach, who has spent his whole career as Ben Stokes’ go-to spinner. It is yet another setback for a well-liked player in the locker room who had only recently recovered from a back stress fracture that prevented him from competing in the Ashes last summer.
With Joe Root serving as the team’s lone all-rounder, England’s spin options are now restricted to the youthful trio of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir, who made his debut in the second Test as a substitute for Leach, his Somerset teammate.
As usual, a lot will rely on how Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum evaluate the surface. The team will return to India on Monday, in time for their first training session at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Tuesday.
India also missing some important players
In the meantime, important players for India will be absent from the upcoming match in Rajkot. After missing the first two Tests for personal reasons, former captain Virat Kohli has withdrawn from the remainder of the series, and Shreyas Iyer has been dropped.
Despite being named in the Indian squad for the remaining Test matches, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja’s availability is in doubt. Jadeja hurt his hamstring in the first Test, and Rahul is recuperating from an injury on his quadriceps. They had both missed the Vizag game.
