IND vs ENG: England spinner Jack Leach to miss second Test due to knee injury

England have suffered a setback ahead of the second Test against India with experienced spinner Jack Leach being unavailable from the second Test due to an injury, skipper Ben Stokes confirmed on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old — who is the most experienced spinner in the England ranks who has come to India as part of the touring party — sustained an injury to his knee during the first Test on Sunday.

Leach picked up the injury to his knee while fielding on the first day of the Test in Hyderabad, where England stunned the hosts by 28 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Leach is then said to have exacerbated the issue on the second day’s morning session.

Despite the injury, Leach bowled 10 overs in the second innings and got the crucial wicket of Shreyas Iyer for 13 runs.

Leach had to skip Wednesday’s training session, putting a question mark over his participation in the second Test, which will take place in Visakhapatnam from February 2-6.

“He’s ruled out of the second Test,” Stokes said at a press conference. “Hopefully, it does not keep him out for longer in the series.”

His absence means that his teammate at Somerset, 20-year-old spinner Shoaib Bashir, is in the frame to make his international debut as a potential replacement for Leach. Bashir had to miss the opening Test against India due to a visa delay which has now been rectified.

“When it came to selection of the squad, there wasn’t too much thought around him because everyone was very, very impressed with what Bash (Bashir) showed,” Stokes added. “Everything we wanted in our spin group was answered by Bashir.”

With Bashir missing and Leach hobbling, debutant Tom Hartley stepped up, claiming 7-62 to help England complete an extraordinary turnaround in the first Test. Hartley returned the fourth-best figures for a debutant visiting bowler in India as the hosts collapsed from 42-0 to all out for 202 runs in 69.2 overs. The hosts held a 190-run lead in the first innings, scoring 436 in reply to England’s 246.

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