The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed Thursday that all-rounder Axar Patel has recovered completely from the knee pain that had ruled him out of the first Test and he is now available for selection for the second Test starting Saturday in Chennai. Moreover, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar, who were added to the squad as replacement for Axar, have been withdrawn. They have been added to the group of standby players as they were before the first Test.
Earlier today Axar was seen bowling in the nets to India captain Virat Kohli in a video posted by BCCI on social media.
The all-rounder trained with the India squad on Thursday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium as the team stepped up preprations in their bid to level the four-match series.
England had defeated India by 227 runs in the first Test in Chennai, keeping their hopes alive for a place in the World Test Championship final.
The second Test in Chennai will also have fans in attendance after the first match was played behind closed doors.
Crowd up to 50 per cent capacity will be allowed at the stadium for this Test.
India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur