- The bowler has been ruled out for the remainder of the Test series in India.
- Jack Leach suffered a serious knee injury while participating in the first test.
- The 32-year-old will return home from England’s training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Jack Leach has been ruled out of the remainder of England’s Test series in India in the latest cruel blow for a cricketer whose career has been plagued by injury setbacks.
The badly bruised knee that Leach suffered after damaging it twice on the field during the first Test in Hyderabad has proved serious enough to end his chances of playing in Thursday’s third Test in Rajkot and the remaining matches in Ranchi and Dharamsala.
Leach, 32, will now return home from England’s camp in Abu Dhabi, where they have been having their mid-series break and there are no plans to call up a replacement.
That means spin will now be left in the inexperienced hands of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, with Joe Root expected to be fit to back them up after damaging the little finger on his right hand during the second Test loss in Visakhapatnam. .
It is desperate news for England’s only experienced slow bowler in Leach, who was returning in the first Test after missing the entire Ashes with a stress fracture in his back suffered during last summer’s first Test against Ireland.
Jack Leach has been ruled out of the remainder of England’s Test series in India due to a knee injury sustained while playing in Hyderabad.
The serious knee bruise that Leach suffered after damaging it twice on the field during the first Test in Hyderabad has proven to be serious enough to end his chances of playing again in India.
Leach, 32, will now return home from England’s camp in Abu Dhabi, where they have been taking their mid-series break.
Unfortunately, Somerset’s slow left arm is no stranger to absences induced by injury or illness. Most seriously, Leach, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that weakens his immune system, contracted sepsis so severe during England’s tour of New Zealand in 2019 that he felt like he was going to die.
This latest setback is also a hard blow for England. Leach has been a favorite of captain Ben Stokes and had become a key figure in the Bazball era playing in every Test under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum until injury struck last year.
But Stokes and McCullum will have no problem relying on the three young spinners who have already done a good job in Leach’s absence.
Hartley took seven wickets on debut to inspire England’s brilliant victory in Hyderabad, while Ahmed took six wickets in the second Test in Vizag and Bashir impressed with his spin on debut.