India’s spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was forced to withdraw from the third Test match against England due to his mother’s urgent medical need in Chennai. The Indian cricket board, known as the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI), has urged supporters to be considerate of the off-spinner’s privacy.
India’s bowling lineup is severely lacking in Ashwin’s absence. Just two of India’s four bowling options are spinners at the moment. The Rohit Sharma-led team will confront a challenge in Rajkot as the English hitters have looked incredibly dangerous on Day 2 of the third Test. They are sure to carry on with their attack on Day 3, and they won’t have Ashwin to stop them.
However, India may have to play the final three days of the Test with just 10 men due to Ashwin’s unavailability. A substitute fielder may only be allowed by the umpires if a player has been hurt or becomes unwell during the match, according to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which is responsible for upholding the game’s laws. The fact that none of Ashwin’s stands have been rectified exacerbates the situation.
A team may use a substitute player for a “wholly acceptable reason” in accordance with MCC rule No. 24.1.1.2. In that scenario, the umpires may let the substitute player maintain wickets but not bowl, bat, or lead. When a player is unavailable, as Ashwin is in this instance, Ben Stokes, the captain of England, must give the Indian team permission to deploy a replacement.
On Friday, Ravichandran Ashwin became the second Indian player to reach 500 Test wickets.
On Day 2 of the ongoing third Test of the series, the seasoned off-spin stalwart made history by becoming just the second Indian cricketer, after Anil Kumble, to accumulate 500 wickets in Test cricket. His teammates praised him as he dismissed Zak Crawley to go down in history. The absence of the man will force the spin tandem of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to step up, with Jasprit Bumrah—who was excellent with the ball in the first two Test matches—coming into the spotlight.
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