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Former CSK player in race to replace injured Rishabh Pant for 5th England Test after Ishan Kishan's rejection: Report
Rishabh Pant suffered a fractured toe while batting on Wednesday, during the fourth Test in Manchester.
After Ishan Kishan reportedly declined the BCCI's offer due to injury, a former Chennai Super Kings player will likely be added to India's Test squad as Rishabh Pant's replacement for the fifth and final match of the ongoing England tour. Pant suffered a fractured toe while batting on Wednesday, during the fourth Test in Manchester.
Kishan's name was initially discussed as a potential replacement, but the Jharkhand wicketkeeper turned down the offer because he is still recovering from an ankle injury and cannot travel to England.
"Ishan Kishan won't be available to travel to England. He is not fully fit as he sustained an ankle injury. The selectors reached out to him, but it has been conveyed to them that Ishan can't make it," a source privy to the developments told Hindustan Times.
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Following Ishan's fitness issue, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national selectors and the touring team management identified Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter N Jagadeesan for the role. According to a report in Cricbuzz, he is "almost certain to be added to the squad," and the BCCI would make it official soon.
Jagadeesan has been selected based on his domestic performance in red-ball cricket. In 52 first-class matches, he has scored 3373 runs at 47.50, with 14 fifties and 10 centuries. In the last Ranji Trophy season, he smashed 674 runs in eight games at 56.16, laced with two hundreds and five fifties. In fact, it was the second-highest run-getter among keepers, after Vidarbha's Akshay Wadkar (722 runs at 45.12 in 10 matches).
Besides the part-timer in KL Rahul, who is already part of the Test squad, the selectors also had KS Bharat as an option, who is currently in England, playing for Dulwich CC. However, he was not considered for the role.
Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel has replaced Pant for keeping duties in the Manchester Test. However, the India vice-captain walked out to bat on Day 2, despite suffering from a fractured toe, and was told to rest for six weeks. He scored a valiant 54 to help India post 358 runs in the first innings.
