Ishant Sharma ruled out of the 1st Test against New Zealand

Indian pace bowling spearhead Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the first Test of the series against New Zealand at Kanpur. A couple of days ahead of the start of the game, head coach Anil Kumble during a press meet said that Ishant was recovering from Chikungunya and thus won’t be available to participate in the opening encounter.

But things seem to be pretty much under control and in favor of the pacer as Kumble also mentioned that they aren’t seeking a replacement for the Delhi pacer as of now. Ishant’s unavailability will certainly add to the troubles of the team management that is already having a tough time picking the XI since at least 3 slots are up for grabs with multiple players in the hunt.

The Green Park wicket in Kanpur is expected to be the one for the spinners, though not from the very first day, but if the curator is to be believed the faster bowlers will find assistance only for the first half hour of the first morning. Keeping that in mind, it looks pretty certain that Team India will field all the three spinners – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra and two pacers to complement them.

Mohammad Shami along with Ishant would have completed the bowling attack but in his absence and considering that the dryness of the wicket will help the ball to reverse swing Bhuvneshwar Kumar in all likelihood walk into the starting team. Another thing that goes in his favor is his performance in the 2nd Test in West Indies, his first of the tour, where he picked a 5-wicket haul to turn the game in favor of the team.

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Skipper Kohli had earlier shown his inclination by backing Umesh Yadav, the fastest among the Indian bowlers but his lack of consistency and the ease with which the New Zealand batsmen can bat against express pace go against him.

More details about Ishant’s availability for the remainder of the tour are yet to be known.