Ravichandran Ashwin unfit for 4th Test, unlikely to play

Ravichandran Ashwin unfit for 4th Test and is unlikely to play. Ravindra Jadeja to slot in as replacement. 

Injury concerns continue to pile up on the Men In Blue as spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is a major doubt for the fourth test due to a groin injury. The 32-year-old was visibly discomfort in the third test at Trent Bridge and was out of the field for a long time.

The management is yet to make a call on Ashwin’s involvement for the next test and the final decision is speculated too be made after the off-spinner starts practicing.

As per Times Of India, the Kings XI Punjab skipper is undergoing treatment to fix the groin injury and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the leading candidate to replace Ashwin in the line-up for the fourth test scheduled to take place at Southampton.

Alongwith Ravindra Jadeja, the Indian management are bestowed with plenty of options to experiment with in place of Ashwin which include Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair and recent call-up Hanuma Vihari.

Despite the options available, the inclusion of Jadeja seems inevitable with his prowess in all the three departments giving an edge over the others. The presence of several right handed batsmen in the English middle order would help Jadeja get in the groove after being off the national side for a while.

Apart from that, a dynamic presence in the field and handy runs down the order would be exactly the thing India needs to claw their way back into the series with two more games left to play.

Ravichandran Ashwin has been an integral part of the Indian test setup for a while and his county experience with Worcestershire has helped the visitors make a stake in the series.

After the injuries suffered to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah in the European soil so far, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is left with the task to fill in the void in case Ashwin fails to get fit in time.

Do you feel that Jadeja is the right choice in case Ashwin misses out? Let us know in the comments section.

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• Ravichandran Ashwin
• Ravindra Jadeja