James Anderson advised six-week break ahead of India series due to shoulder injury

Due to this shoulder injury, Anderson will have to miss the Lancashire’s next two County Championship matches against Worcestershire and Hampshire, taking place in the late June. The break has been taken so as to ensure that Anderson would emerge fully fit for the series against India.

“My shoulder has been an issue ongoing for the last couple of years and it is just managing it and looking after it best way I can. I just need to get in the gym and get it strong. The India schedule is ridiculous with five Tests in six weeks and that will put a lot of stress on it. The way the fixtures have fallen it is a shame I will miss some games for Lancashire,” Anderson told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.

Anderson is England's leading Test wicket-taker with 540 wickets in 138 matches. The five home Tests against India has been fit into a six-week schedule which Anderson feels is quite ridiculous and he said that he'll need time away from the game to achieve his fitness. 

“We have five Tests against India in a six-week period from August 1, which will be an intense and challenging period for all our bowlers, and therefore it’s vital that we ensure Jimmy goes into that series in the best possible condition,” said Bayliss in an England and Wales Cricket Board statement issued Sunday.

“Jimmy has to manage the issue with his right shoulder, and we’ve been advised that the best way for him to prepare for the India series is to take a six-week break from cricket now, initially to rest it and then to work slowly back to cricket. That six-week period covers Lancashire’s two Championship matches (against Worcestershire and Hampshire) over the next three weeks. We will then monitor to see where Jimmy is at and ensuring he is ready for the India series,” he further added.