Allrounder Axar Patel has been declared fully fit for the second Test against England starting Saturday and will be available for selection, BCCI has announced. The development means the spin duo of Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar has been withdrawn from the main Test squad with the All- India selection committee adding them back to the group of standby players.
Axar was expected to make his Test debut in the first Test last week but was ruled out on the morning of the first day due to an knee injury. And in his stead, Nadeem went on to play his second Test of international career ending with match figures of 4/233.
“Axar Patel has recovered completely and is now available for selection for the 2nd Paytm Test in Chennai against England to be played from Saturday, 13th February. The allrounder had complained of pain in his left knee and was ruled out of the first Test,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a media release on Thursday night.
The outcome of the series will also decide who faced New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship later this year in June.
India Updated Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-Captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur
