Reports: Wriddhiman Saha not likely to recover in time for England Test series

India won the T20I series versus England by a 2-1 margin on Sunday to mark their maiden T20I series triumph on English soil. However, they have had their reasons to worry with a few injury concerns over the past few weeks, after Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah were ruled, Bhuvneshwar Kumar missed the last match owing to a stiff back too.

To add to their woes, according to reports from CricTracker, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, might be ruled out of the upcoming Test series in August. The 33-year old was on his track to recover from the thumb injury he suffered during the Indian Premier League, playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was hit by a sharp bouncer from Shivam Mavi after which the injury triggered.

He also couldn’t play in the Test between India and Afghanistan, which took place last month at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore that led to Dinesh Karthik replacing him in the squad. Karthik might again find a place in the team provided Saha doesn’t attain the desired level of fitness. Parthiv Patel, who has played a few times for India in the last one year, may get an opportunity as well.

“The injury is more serious than it seemed. He is still wearing a soft plaster on his thumb. He is going through his fitness drills and very little cricket. It will be a huge risk if he goes to England with even one percent doubt in his mind. The selectors will pick a day for selection in another two days,” a source close to Saha mentioned while updating about his injury.

With Bumrah’s recovery uncertain and Mohammad Shami’s inclusion still unsure, injury worries don’t seem to stop for the Indian team. However, for the time being, the Men in Blue’s focus would be ODI series, which would begin from July 12 at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the same venue where the highest ever ODI score was racked a few days ago.