India Squad For 2nd Test: Shahbaz Nadeem And Rahul Chahar Withdrawn; Axar Patel Available For Selection

India vs England 2021: Axar Patel had missed the first match owing to pain in knee but has been declared fully fit for the 2nd Test in Chennai.

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 The development means the spin duo of Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar has been withdrawn from the main Test squad with the All- India selection committee adding them back to the group of standby players.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.

India were handed a royal thrashing by the visiting England team with the hosts being crushed by 227 runs. Joe Root men’s thus became the first team since 2017 to win a Test in India as they took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

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

Standby players: K S Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, Priyank Panchal

Net Bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Krishnappa Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar