Gus Atkinson, an England fast bowler, is probably going to miss the series’ opening Test match against India, which is set to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. There are concerns regarding the pacer’s availability for the first match of the five-match Test series due to reports that he has a right hamstring injury.
Interestingly, Atkinson suffered the injury in May during the one-time Test match against Zimbabwe, which also prevented him from playing in the just finished ODI series against the West Indies. Even without him, England thrashed the visitors 3-0.
“Bowler Gus Atkinson is a doubt for the first Test against India later this month because of a right hamstring strain — adding to England’s injury concerns among their seamers,” according to a BBC report.
The 27-year-old speedster is a vital member of England’s pace attack and has claimed three five-wicket hauls in his 12 games. With other seamers Mark Wood and Olly Stone also dealing with fitness concerns, his possible absence would compound England’s already mounting injury problems. In addition, Jofra Archer’s thumb injury has postponed his expected return to Test cricket. England will play the West Indies in a three-match Twenty20 International series, starting at Chester-le-Street on Friday, before to the Test series against India.
The whole itinerary for India’s England tour:
Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain/wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.
India
