Challenge to level England series gets tough for India as Jadeja, KL Rahul ruled out of 2nd Test

MORE bad news awaited India after they lost the first Test match against England in Hyderabad inside four days as two of their premier players -- Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul -- were ruled out of the second match starting in Visakhapatnam on Friday (2).

Jadeja, who picked five wickets and scored 87 runs in the first innings of the first Test, suffered a hamstring injury on the fourth day, the Indian cricket board said in a statement. It also added that KL Rahul, who made 86 in the first innings, complained of pain in his right quadriceps.

Uncapped batter Sarfaraz Khan and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar were called as replacements besides all-rounder Washington Sundar.

While Khan has been knocking at the selectors' doors over recent seasons for his prolific scoring in first-class cricket in which he averages around 70 with 14 centuries, Kumar has 290 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 27.11. The latter was part of the India Test squad that toured Bangladesh in December 2022 but did not get to play.

Read: Debutant Tom Hartley takes 7 as England beat India by 28 runs in 1st Test

Despite the inclusion of the two promising players, the hosts will still look significantly weakened as they strive to level the series after losing the first match by 28 runs. Ace batter Virat Kohli will also not play the match as he has withdrawn from the first two games due to personal reasons.

Read: Joe Root achieves major feat in Tests versus India

India may see the debut of Rajat Patidar, another uncapped player who was added to the squad following Kohli's withdrawal. He is expected to take Rahul's place. Kuldeep Yadav, another attacking wrist spinner who is in the squad but did not play in the first match, may also feature in the hosts' playing XI.

India squad for second Test versus England

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicket keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice captain), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar.