Bhuvneshwar Kumar ruled out from remaining two Tests: Reports

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was expected to be fit by the end of three Test matches but reports suggest that the Indian bowler has not recovered from his injury yet and he has been ruled out of the remaining Test matches.

India are currently playing a five-matches series against England where the hosts are leading by 2-0. India had their hopes pinned on Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was expected to be fit by now.

Kumar had also missed a few ODI matches before the Test series due to a back injury. His back injury aggravated while he was playing the final ODI against England and he was ruled out of the first three Test Matches.

Kumar had performed well when India toured South Africa earlier this year and he was expected to be a key player for the series against England.

Reportedly, the 28-year old bowler is undergoing a rehab programme at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) and the management believes that he cannot be considered to be fully fit for playing the game.

BCCI was hopeful of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recovery as they had said that the pacer could be available for the last couple of matches.

India’s main trouble so far has been their batting as none of the Indian batsmen have been able to perform in the longest format of the game but the bowlers have performed fairly well on the English conditions.

India will be taking on England for the third Test match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham scheduled to start from August 18.

Squads for the third Test:

India:

Virat Kohli (c), Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Karun Nair, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahana, Lokesh Rahul, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur,  Murali Vijay

England:

Joe Root (c), Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Alastair Cook, Jamie Porter, Keaton Jennings, Adil Rashid, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes