London [UK], February 18 (ANI): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday confirmed that all-rounder Sam Curran would not be available for the fourth Test against India.
Curran will be travelling to India on February 26 via a chartered-flight, however, he would not be able to feature in the squad for the fourth Test, set to begin from March 4 at Ahmedabad. However, the all-rounder will be available for the five T20Is against India.
“Sam Curran will rejoin the England squad via the charter flight carrying other members of the limited-overs line-up to India, on February 26, it was announced today. Originally it was planned the Surrey all-rounder would fly to Ahmedabad in time to be available for the fourth Test in the city, starting on March 4,” ECB’s media team said in an official statement.
“However, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, making secure arrangements for such a journey proved too great a logistical challenge,” it added.
England squad for last two Tests: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
India achieved an emphatic 317-run win against England in the second Test of the ongoing four-match series. As a result, the series stands level at 1-1 and the Virat Kohli-led side has also reached the second spot in World Test Championship (WTC) standings. Ravichandran Ashwin took an eight-wicket haul in the second Test, along with his 106-run knock in the second innings as India registered an emphatic 317-run win here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
India remains in contention to make the final of the ICC World Test Championship after completing an impressive victory over England in the second Test to draw level in the four-match series.
The victory in Chennai on Tuesday has lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.
England, who led the table after winning the opening Test, has slipped to the fourth spot with 67.0 percentage points. They can still qualify, but for that, they must win both remaining matches of the series against India. (ANI)
