Mayank Agarwal ruled out of first England Test with concussion

Indian opener Mayank Agarwal has been ruled out of the first Test against England in Nottingham, starting 4 August, after suffering a concussion during a net session on Monday. Mayank showed signs of concussion after the BCCI’s medical team conducted a concussion test.

“The 30-year-old is stable and will remain under close medical observation,” stated the BCCI release.

Team India skipper Virat Kohli will certainly be concerned by this development. Kohli will be missing out on the services of all-rounder Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan and Shubman Gill in the vital series. Sundar had taken an injection on his right-hand bowling finger. However, his recovery will take longer than expected and he is not bowling-fit. Avesh suffered a blow to his left thumb on Day 1 of the warm-up game. He was taken for an X-Ray and the result confirmed a fracture. Shubman Gill sustained a developing stress reaction on his left lower leg (shin) during the World Test Championship final. This was confirmed via an MRI scan.

England to miss out on Ben Stokes’ services

The hosts will be missing out on the services of all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has taken an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect, as confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Stokes has withdrawn from England’s Test squad for the series against India, which starts next week. The 30-year-old wishes to prioritise his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month. The ECB has pledged to fully support Stokes’ decision and will continue to help him during this period away from the game.

“Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing. Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be the mental health and welfare of all of our people. The demands on our athletes to prepare and play elite sport are relentless in a typical environment, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely compounded this,” said Ashley Giles, Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket.

“Spending significant amounts of time away from family, with minimal freedoms, is extremely challenging. The cumulative effect of operating almost continuously in these environments over the last 16 months has had a major impact on everyone’s wellbeing. Ben will be given as long as he needs, and we look forward to seeing him playing cricket for England in the future,” he added.

Stokes will be replaced in the squad by Somerset’s Craig Overton. The all-rounder was set to make a comeback to the longest format of the game, following his inclusion in the 17-player squad, having been sidelined during the two-match Test series against New Zealand in June. Stokes was recovering from a fractured finger sustained in the recently suspended edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav

Standby players: Prasidh Krishna, Arzan Nagwaswalla.

England Men’s Test Squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Craig Overton, Mark Wood.