Suryakumar Yadav 'counts blessings' as he heads England for the Test series

India middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday informed his fans that he will be joining the Test squad. Following his late selection for the upcoming matches, Kumar took to social media to announce his departure for the UK. Suryakumar was called up to the squad along with  Prithvi Shaw after Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan and Mayank Agarwal were all ruled out due to injuries. Suryakumar Yadav now stands a chance to impress in the five-match India vs England test series which starts on August 4.

Suryakumar Yadav flies to the UK ahead of Test series

India and England will lock horns once again in five Tests, beginning Wednesday at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The series will mark the beginning of the next World Test Championship cycle. Following a heartbreaking end to the first, India will now look to get back on their feet to put out their top performance in the second cycle of the championship. However, the injuries ahead of the tournament came as a blow to the squad.

Following his call up, Suryakumar Yadav took to Twitter to post a photo of him. With the picture shot inside a flight, he informed that he is now leaving to rejoin the squad before the first test. The player will, however, miss the first test and will have to look to make the squad in the second. Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah had come out in support of the team’s request to have Suryakumar and Shaw travel to England as replacements for the test series.

Meanwhile, sources close to ANI, said that the board officials discussed the situation after Suryakumar and Shaw had to be isolated ahead of the second T20I against Sri Lanka, but the board secretary backed the call from skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri to call the duo up to the UK for the upcoming Test matches. According to the BCCI, spin bowler Washington Sundar was ruled out of the remainder of the England tour after he took an injection on his right-hand bowling finger during the three-day practice game against County Select XI. Meanwhile, pacer Avesh Khan was confirmed to have a fracture after suffering a blow to his left thumb on Day 1 of the warm-up game, ruling him out of the series.

India vs England Tests

The Indian Test squad is currently practising at Trent Bridge for the upcoming five-match series against England, starting August 4. The team was earlier faced with a major blow when Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batsman, had previously tested positive for COVID-19 disease. Pant, however, has healed and has rejoined the team in Nottingham. Ahead of the game, Indian skipper Virat Kohli instilled confidence in the team and said that it takes immense hard work, dedication and agility for a team to play five Test Matches in a series. The captain went on to praise the Indian Cricket team for having the necessary qualities.

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.

IMAGE: PTI