India vs England: Axar Patel ruled out of first Test against England

The 27-year-old complained of pain in his left knee during a training session on Thursday.

India all-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Test against England with a knee injury, the (BCCI) said on Friday ahead of the toss. As per the BCCI release, the left-arm spinner complained of pain in his left knee during a training session on Thursday.

File picture of Axar Patel (AP)

"Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Paytm Test against England. The all-rounder complained of pain in his left knee during Team India's optional training session on Thursday. He is being monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and while his detailed reports are awaited, he will not be available for selection for the opening match," the BCCI said in a statement.

In place of the 27-year-old cricketer, the Indian cricket board added spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar to the Indian Test squad.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar to India's squad. Both Nadeem and Chahar have been training with Team India as part of the standby group of players," BCCI said.

India's squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar.

England squad for first two Tests: Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Ollie Pope.

(With Reuters, ANI inputs)