Suryakumar Yadav has received his maiden Test team call-up and he along with opener Prithvi Shaw will be flying to England as replacements sought by the team management after three players were ruled out due to injury.
Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan have been forced out from the ongoing tour. The Test series is due to start on August 4.
While Shubman was ruled out due to shin splints suffered during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, Avesh dislocated a thumb during the warm-up game against County XI. Washington aggravated his finger injury.
Off-spinner Jayant Yadav was also supposed to go to UK as Washington's replacement but it has been learnt that as of now only Suryakumar and Prithvi are being sent.
A senior BCCI office-bearer confirmed the development.
"Yes, Prithvi and Surya are flying to UK from Sri Lanka. Jayant was also supposed to go but there has been some change in plans due to quarantine requirements. Jayant is now not going. Both players will have a bubble to bubble transfer from Colombo to London. Whether they will fly in the middle of the T20 Internationals (Shaw and and Suryakumar are part of team in Sri Lanka) or post that is being worked out," the senior official told PTI.
"But yes, they are our replacement players for Test series in England. They might just leave after the three T20 Internationals but we will get confirmation in another three days."
It is understood that Shaw's form has impressed the team management and Mayank Agarwal's current rhythm isn't the greatest.
However, with quarantine rules in place, it is not clear if Suryakumar and Shaw can make it in time for the first Test after completing their hard quarantine.
As far as Jayant is concerned, he was considered for his superior batting abilities as he has a Test hundred. He was also looked upon as a steady net bowler unless Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja suffer from any injury in the long series. But the plan has been shelved for now.
Suryakumar's assertive batting could be used during some point in the series as Ajinkya Rahane's hamstring injury will keep the team concerned.
"In any case, if Ajinkya misses the first Test, it will be KL Rahul who will bat in the middle-order in Nottingham. The team management is still confident that Ajinkya might be alright before the Nottingham Test."
However no pacer is being sent right now as already there are seven speedsters in UK for match and net sessions.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
)