England spinner Jack Leach will miss the rest of the Test series in India due to the knee injury he picked up during the opening match in Hyderabad.
The 32-year-old started the first Test but played a limited role as England won by 28-runs. With heavy strapping on his leg, he was able to bat and bowl on the fourth day, taking the crucial wicket of Shreyas Iyer as India suffered just a fourth home defeat in 47 Tests.
But he missed the next match in Visakhapatnam, which saw India level the series with a 106-run victory.
“Obviously, it would be a shame for Leachy to miss out, he's a fantastic bowler, but we've got good depth,” said England opener Zak Crawley after the first Test. “We've got a good spin attack and good seamers to back them up.”
His absence for the second Test saw Somerset teammate Shoaib Bashir come into the side, where he picked up four wickets on his international debut.
Bashir was joined by Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley in England’s spin attack, with the trio holding only three caps between them going into that match.
England will not be calling up a replacement and Leach – who has taken 126 wickets in 36 Tests – will now return home from Abu Dhabi where England are taking a break ahead of the next match in Rajkot that starts on Thursday.
Left-arm spinner Leach had only just returned to the side having missed last summer's Ashes series against Australia with a stress fracture in his back.
Second Test - India v England
In a statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “He will fly home from Abu Dhabi in the next 24 hours … Leach will work closely with the England and Somerset medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation.”
The final two matches will be played at Ranchi and Dharamsala, starting on
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