Image Credit- BCCI
The BCCI has stated that on the fourth day of the
current third Test match between India and England, offspinner R Ashwin will
return to the Indian team in Rajkot. For personal reasons, he had left the city
after the second day’s play and hadn’t seen the play at all on the third.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pleased to announce
the return of R Ashwin to the squad after a brief absence due to a family
emergency,” it said in a statement. “Both R Ashwin and the team
management are pleased to confirm that he will be back in action on Day 4 and
will continue to contribute towards the team’s cause in the ongoing Test match.
Ashwin and his family kindly request privacy as they navigate through these
challenging times.”
By lunchtime, he may be in Rajkot. Ashwin has been off
the pitch for the entire day, but he will be ready to bowl whenever needed. If
the umpires determine that the player was off the pitch for “other wholly
acceptable reasons, which shall not include illness or internal injury” in
accordance with the playing circumstances, they may elect not to impose penalty
time.
On the second day of the Rajkot Test, Ashwin claimed his 500th wicket in Test
cricket and was present at the post-match news conference. The BCCI released a
statement announcing Ashwin’s departure from the team at 11 p.m. Indian
Standard Time.
After India’s first-innings total of 445 runs, England
was on 207 for 2 in 35 overs at the start of the third day’s play, with opener
Ben Duckett batting on a century 133 at more than a run a ball. Nevertheless,
even without Ashwin, India rallied, claiming eight wickets for 112 runs on the
third day to take a 126-run advantage into the first innings.
By midday on day 4, India’s batsmen had increased that to 440 with only 4
second-inning wickets lost, thanks to 148 and 91 from Shubman Gill and Yashasvi
Jaiswal.