The first Test match between India and England is all set to begin from Friday 5 February at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Virat Kohli is back from a maternity leave and he would be looking to take his side to victory as the match is important in the context of the World Test Championship. But, Indian team has faced a setback right before the start of the first Test. All-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Test match. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah gave this information via a press release.
The press release read: “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”
Due to this, Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and leg-spinner Deepak Chahar have been included in the main squad from the list of standby players. Nadeem hails from Jharkhand while Chahar comes from Rajasthan. These players would be looking to make the most of the opportunity presented to them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Axar Patel ruled out of first <a >@Paytm</a> <a >#INDvENG</a> Test; Shahbaz Nadeem & Rahul Chahar added to India squad<br><br>More details 👉 <a >https://t.co/2uk74iyVpW</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/MpUdUGMauB</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a >February 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"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 in the press note. Patel was picked up as a replacement to Ravindra Jadeja.