Why is Jack Leach not playing today’s 2nd India vs England Test?

England will miss the services of experienced left-arm spinner Jack Leach for the second Test against India, which is being played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. The 32-year-old has been ruled out due to a knee injury he sustained while playing in the first Test in Hyderabad.

As per reports, Leach hurt his knee during the opening day of the Hyderabad Test and the issue aggravated the following day. The left-arm spinner bowled only 10 overs in England’s second innings of the Test, claiming the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, while giving away just 33 runs.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, England Test captain Ben Stokes confirmed Leach’s unavailability for the match and commented:

“Unfortunately, the knock he took resulted in a haematoma in his leg. It's a big shame for us, a big shame for Jack, obviously after a long time out of the game with his back. To sustain that injury, first game back, obviously it's frustrating. But it's something we're assessing every day.”

The visitors have named 20-year-old Somerset off-spinner Shoaib Bashir as Leach’s replacement in the playing XI for the second Test against India. Bashir was unavailable for the first Test due to visa issues and was forced to return home to resolve the matter.

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About Shoaib Bashir - Jack Leach’s replacement for 2nd Test

Speaking ahead of the second India vs England Test in Visakhapatnam, Stokes admitted that he hadn't seen a lot of Bashir, but asserted that he liked whatever little glimpse he got of the youngster.

"To be perfectly honest, our training camp in Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash. The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair (Cook). I just saw something. With the height he bowled from, it was very obvious that he put a lot of action, a lot of revolutions, on the ball," the England skipper said in the build-up to the second Test.

Looking at his domestic career, Bashir has played only a handful of matches. In six first-class matches, he has 10 wickets at an average of 67, with a best of 3/67. In List A cricket, the youngster has three scalps in seven games. He has also picked up four wickets in five T20 matches.