Anderson injury may rule him out of Indian series
JIMMY Anderson is set to miss the whole series against India after he was left out of the squad for the tour.
Anderson is England’s all-time leading wicket-taker and will definitely miss the first Test in Rajkot starting on November 9 and is a doubt for the second inVisakhapatnam.
Anderson, 34, has been at Loughborough this week continuing his recovery from a damaged shoulder which forced him to miss the ongoing series against Bangladesh and his availability for the remaining Tests of the India tour will be assessed by medics.
The absence of Anderson, who has 463 wickets in 119 Test matches, means Jake Ball remains with the squad having been added to the party for the current tour of Bangladesh.
England are already without seamer Mark Wood, who, like Anderson, was named in England’s initial squad for Bangladesh, after the Durham paceman suffered the recurrence of an ankle injury.It leaves Stuart Broad to lead the attack alongside Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, Steven Finn and Ball with five Tests on the Subcontinent all before Christmas.
That also explains why England captain Alastair Cook and head coach Trevor Bayliss have stressed the need to manage their bowlers’ workloads during a hectic period that sees them play seven Tests in nine weeks when you also include the two matches against Bangladesh.
Anderson said: “I’m at Loughborough again next week. They have a tent there so I will be bowling outdoors. It’ll be a good test and if it goes well I am hoping that we can decide (whether I’ll be going to India) then.
“I have been videoing what I’ve been doing and sending it to the England physios.
“I have got to be realistic. I’ve only been bowling for a week so I can’t rush it.”
At the top of the order,there is no return for Alex Hales.The opener opted out of the Bangladesh tour because of security concerns and he is now expected to return for the limited-overs leg of the India tour, which takes place in January and February.
Hales’ place was under threat following a disappointing summer series against Pakistan.
The Nottinghamshire man is yet to hit a Test match century,despite playing 11 games in whites for the Three Lions.
England squad for India Test series:
Alastair Cook (capt),Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Haseeb Hameed, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes While it may be a case of spin wins in the Sub-continent, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Anderson’s pace and ability to swing the ball will be a huge miss for England, and the Three Lions will be hoping he can still play some part in the series. He may not have the best of records in India, but he’s a threat wherever. And you can be sure India’s batsmen would rather pace off the ball