Axar out of 1st Test with knee injury; Rahul Chahar, Shahbaz Nadeem included in squad

Chennai: Spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel was on Friday ruled out of the first Test against England after complaining of pain in his left knee.

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem from Jharkhand and Rajasthan leg-spinner Deepak Chahar have been included in the main squad from the list of standby players.

”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,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated in a press release.

”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,” Shah further stated.

Axar was picked as a replacement for star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who is recovering from an injury and was in line to make his Test debut.

”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 release also stated.