England head coach Brendon McCullum has provided a worrying update on Jack Leach’s knee injury. England’s spin spearhead was forced to miss the second Test against India in Visakhapatnam as his team suffered a 106-run defeat.
He sustained the injury on the field on the first day of the series opener in Hyderabad. Despite his injury, he managed to bowl for England and contributed to a memorable 28-run victory. In his absence, Shoaib Bashir made his debut in the second Test. Also, although Jack Leach was expected to recover by his third Test, he may also miss the next Test.
McCallum gave an update on the spinner’s knee injury, saying the knee was “still pretty sore and pretty bad”. McCullum also praised his bowling in the first Test despite his injury, calling it a great performance.
“I’m still pretty irritated, but he (Jack Leach) was a fraud so I don’t really understand,” Mr McCullum told the Belfast Telegraph.
“But his knee is in pretty bad shape. It’s remarkable that he managed to do what he did in the first Test match,” McCullum added.
England lack experience without Jack Leach:
England’s spin department lacks experience due to the absence of Jack Leach. His three other spinners played a total of six Tests. Rehan Ahmed has played three Tests so far while Tom Hartley and Bashir have played two and one Test respectively.
England are desperate for Leach to recover quickly and lead their spin attack again. With a week left until the start of the third Test, Leach is assessing his chances of recovering in time. The tourists will be keen to bounce back from the defeat in the second Test.
England played well, conceding 399 goals, but were defeated with 292 goals conceded. His third Test of the five-match series is scheduled to be held in Rajkot from February 15th.
